Department for Transport

Public Transport: Rural Areas

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take into account the impact of reduced public transport in (a) The Wrekin and (b) other rural areas on levels of (i) rural peripherality and (ii) socio-economic deprivation as part of his assessment of (A) the Telford and Wrekin Sustainable Transport Package and (B) other integrated transport bids.

Karl McCartney: When assessing bids for local transport projects, the Department considers a range of factors including alignment to strategic priorities, local context, deliverability, as well as financial, economic and commercial cases.

Unadopted Roads: Housing Estates

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if officials in his Department will hold discussions with representatives of the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport on standardising procedures and requirements across local highways authorities to increase the number of housing estate roads for adoption by specifying minimum adoption standards and enable developers to offer those roads for adoption.

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of amending the Advance Payment Code to empower local highway authorities to resolve unresolved section 38 Highways Act 1980 negotiations.

Karl McCartney: Local authorities are responsible for the setting their own design standards for their streets. It is not possible to design national standards as every community is different. It is entirely a matter for individual authorities to decide the standards for their network. The Department provides good practice guidance to assist local authorities in setting design standardsWhere a developer obtains planning permission for a new development they will consider how or if they wish the roads on that development to be adopted. They may seek to have roads on that development adopted by entering into an agreement with the highway authority under the Highways Act 1980, or they may decide that their development will remain private and that the roads will not become public highway – for example as in a gated community.Local authorities can use planning conditions or section 106 planning obligations to secure a commitment from developers to provide and maintain communal spaces and facilities. It is up to developers and local planning authorities to agree appropriate funding arrangements for developments with common areas or shared services. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities are responsible for planning policy.No assessment has been made of amending the advance payment code to resolve section 38 Highways Act 1980 negotiations. We have previously published an advice note on the process of adopting private roads into the public road network and an updated version is to be published shortly.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Andy Carter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Government funding allocated to local authorities for repairing potholes is used effectively; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that those repairs are of a good standard.

Karl McCartney: Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended, to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances. The Government does not intervene or override local decisions in these matters.Well-planned maintenance to prevent potholes and other defects from forming in the first place is vital, and the Department advocates a risk-based, whole life-cycle asset management approach to all aspects of the local highway network.To assist local authorities in treating potholes and other road defects, the Department worked with the Association of Directors, for Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) to publish in 2019 Potholes: a repair guide.The Government has committed £915 million per year for local highways maintenance for local highway authorities outside London and Mayoral Combined Authorities, for the three years starting 2022-23, which includes pothole funding.

Railway Network: Climate Change

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on building greater resilience into the rail network as a result of climate change.

Wendy Morton: My department takes resilience of the railway very seriously. The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail includes a priority for long-term investment in climate resilience supported by smarter forecasting, planning and technology. The Department is working closely with Defra and the Climate Change Committee to ensure infrastructure risks are identified and addressed. Defra is the lead government department for climate change adaptation and is regularly in contact with the Treasury on the associated costs.Network Rail has made significant progress in developing its understanding of weather risks and how these will shift as the climate changes into the future. Network Rail has developed a Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation (WRCCA) Strategy which has helped improve governance, knowledge and practices throughout its business. There are a number of mechanisms through which it identifies, records and controls its risks, including its updated Control Period 6 Route WRCCA Plans and recent Asset Management WRCCA Plan. Further information can be provided on this is required. Network Rail is also working on implementing the recommendations of the Mair and Slingo reports.Furthermore, the third National Adaptation Programme is due in 2023. It will showcase the government’s strategy and plans to tackle the effects of climate change, including how to protect people, infrastructure and the environment in heatwaves. For transport, this means working closely with transport infrastructure operators to take meaningful and measurable action to address risks posed by our changing climate.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Space

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government will develop a set of space sustainability targets.

Jane Hunt: The Government has set out its commitment to space sustainability in the National Space Strategy, which commits to ensuring space remains safe, secure and sustainable.We are already delivering that commitment - on 23 June we announced the first ever Plan for Space Sustainability. This encompasses a range of ambitious measures that show UK leadership to advance the sustainable future of space, including:- Demonstrating continued regulatory leadership.- Demonstrating UK global leadership.- Leadership on meeting sustainability standards through the development of an industry-led standard for space sustainability.- Continuing to enhance national and global capacity.

Distributive Trade: Conditions of Employment

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to protect workers' rights in the retail and distribution sector in response to the Taylor Review.

Jane Hunt: We are committed to supporting all workers across the UK and have recently brought forward several reforms which will help protect workers in the retail and distribution sector. In April 2022 we made sure 2.5 million people received a pay rise raising the National Minimum and National Living Wages. This was the largest ever cash increase to the National Living Wage and will put over £1,000 a year into a full-time workers’ pay packet, helping to ease cost of living pressures. Additionally, on 6 July we brought forward legislation to widen the ban on exclusivity clauses, which restrict staff from working for multiple employers, to contracts where the guaranteed weekly income is equivalent to or below the Lower Earnings Limit of £123 a week.

Modern Working Practices Review

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendation of the Taylor Review to ensure more attainable ways for employees to strengthen their future work prospects.

Jane Hunt: The opportunity to progress in work is any integral part of job quality and the Government has taken steps since the publication of the Taylor Review to help workers improve their prospects to progress in work. The Department for Work and Pensions recently launched an in-work progression offer to support low paid universal credit claimants in work to progress and increase their earnings. This support will be provided by work coaches and will focus on removing barriers to progression, helping people identify skills gaps and relevant training, helping people look for progression opportunities in their current role, and consider changing roles or sectors.  Furthermore, low-paid workers are eligible for training funded by the Department for Education, who maintain a suite of skills programmes to help all workers boost skills and prospects.

Modern Working Practices Review

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendation of the Taylor Review to ensure that platform based employees should be clearly distinguished from those who are legitimately self-employed.

Jane Hunt: The Government is clear that everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work and rewarded for their contribution to the economy, both in terms of fair pay and fair working conditions.We announced on the 9th May that we will bring forward employment status guidance to help clarify the existing status boundaries. This will make it easier for individuals and businesses, including for those in the gig economy, to understand which employment rights apply to them, enhancing worker protections whilst maintaining flexibility and ensuring a level playing field within the labour market.

Remote Working: Weather

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to encourage workers to work at home if it is cooler during periods of extreme heat.

Jane Hunt: This is a matter for employers to discuss with their employees, if appropriate. This is not a matter for Government.

Modern Working Practices Review

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made progress on implementing recommendation seven in the Taylor Review on ensuring that there are sectoral strategies to engage employers, employees and stakeholders so that people in low paid sectors do not continuously remain on the minimum wage.

Jane Hunt: Earlier this year we increased the National Living Wage, putting £1,000 more a year in the pay packets of those who need it most. Programmes offered by the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions are helping to up-skill workers, allowing them to progress in work and thrive in the labour market.

Horizon Europe

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what consultation his Department has conducted with medical research charities on alternative funding arrangements to the EU's Horizon Europe programme.

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what further consultation he plans to conduct with medical research charities on alternative funding arrangements to the EU's Horizon Europe programme.

Jane Hunt: The Government’s preference is for the UK to associate to Horizon Europe. However, given the EU’s persistence in delaying our association, it is only right and responsible that we are prepared for all outcomes, including one where we are not able to associate. On 20 July we published proposals on how the UK would transition to a new R&D programme, should the EU’s delays to our association to Horizon Europe continue. These include details of our proposed transitional measures and an overview of our longer-term alternative plans. We will continue to engage with researchers from a diverse range of sectors to make sure that the UK is a desirable place for R&D in all future scenarios. Over the next few months, we plan to step up our engagement with businesses, universities and research institutions, to support them if association is not possible.

Delivery Services: Highlands of Scotland

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will hold discussions with representatives of delivery companies on ending surcharges for deliveries to the Highlands.

Jane Hunt: The Government recognises delivery costs can be higher in some parts of the UK and strongly encourages businesses to provide consumers with a range of affordable delivery options. The Royal Mail provides a universal parcel service at a uniform price throughout the United Kingdom thanks to rules the UK government put in place in the Postal Services Act 2011.The Consumer Protection Partnership, which includes Ofcom, Government representatives, consumer advocates and training standards officials, runs a dedicated working group to collect evidence on the issue.

Innovate UK: Expenditure

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2022 to Question 33779 Innovate UK: Expenditure, for what reason the total awarded by Innovate UK reduced from £1,491m to £815m between 2020 and 2021; and whether that reduction will be matched by an equivalent increase in 2022 or 2023.

Jane Hunt: The higher grant figure for projects starting in 2020 compared to 2021 was a combination of two large programmes (Strength in Places, and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centre) and Innovate UK’s part in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic which saw them launch three major programmes to help the UK business innovation ecosystem navigate the shock of the global pandemic.

Post Offices: ICT

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will extend the deadline of the Horizon compensation scheme to allow the estimated 170 branch managers who were not aware of the scheme and are reported to have missed the deadline to apply.

Jane Hunt: The Department has held initial discussions with Post Office on this issue and is expecting to receive a formal proposal shortly. BEIS, supported by UKGI, will then work closely with Post Office to find an appropriate and fair solution.

Modern Working Practices Review

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendation of the Taylor Review to ensure that the same basic principles should apply to all forms of employment in the British economy.

Jane Hunt: The Government is clear that everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work and rewarded for their contribution to the economy, both in terms of fair pay and fair working conditions. We announced on the 9th May that we will bring forward employment status guidance to help clarify the existing status boundaries. This will make it easier for individuals and businesses, including for those in the gig economy, to understand which employment rights apply to them, enhancing worker protections whilst maintaining flexibility and ensuring a level playing field within the labour market.

Modern Working Practices Review

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made progress on implementing the recommendation in the Taylor Review on ensuring a more proactive approach to workplace health.

Jane Hunt: The Government is committed to supporting people living with disabilities and long term health conditions. A range of Government initiatives are supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work. These include the Work and Health Programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. We will be investing £1.3bn in employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions over the next three years.

Wind Power: North Sea

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is the Government's policy to advocate for the UK’s return to the North Sea Energy Cooperation.

Greg Hands: The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides for the establishment of a specific forum for cooperation in relation to offshore grid development and the large renewable energy potential of the North Seas region, similar to the previous North Seas Energy Cooperation. The Government is currently negotiating the terms of cooperation with the European Commission, with a view to agreeing a Memorandum of Understanding that is acceptable to both sides as soon as possible.

Wind Power: North Sea

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to engage his counterparts in other countries bordering the North Sea on energy cooperation in the North Sea.

Greg Hands: The North Seas cooperation, as laid out by Government in its British Energy Security Strategy, will accelerate the development of offshore windfarms with links to continental power grids. This will unleash hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy into North Seas countries’ electricity systems. The Government has strong, cooperative relationships with North Seas partners and has recently concluded a Treaty with Norway on interconnection and a Memorandum of Understanding with Belgium on offshore cooperation. The Government has also been working with Denmark to agree to formalise cooperation on the energy transition and is currently negotiating the terms of cooperation on North Seas Energy Cooperation with the European Commission.

Electricity Interconnectors: Norway

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent conversations he has had with his counterpart in the Norwegian Government on the North Sea Link interconnector.

Greg Hands: On 23 March 2022, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State attended the International Energy Agency 2022 Ministerial meeting and met Mr Terje Aasland, Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Norway. Following this introduction, the Secretary of State wrote to Mr Terje Aasland on 1 April 2022 and copies of that letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Fracking

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to explore alternative methods to fracking for extracting shale gas.

Greg Hands: The Ministerial Statement of 4 November 2019 makes clear that the pause on shale gas exploration and extraction applies specifically to operations that require Hydraulic Fracturing Consent. The definition of associated hydraulic fracturing is set out under section 4B of the Petroleum Act 1998 (inserted by Section 50 of the Infrastructure Act 2015), and involves the injection of more than 10,000 cubic metres of fluid in total, or more than 1,000 cubic metres of fluid per stage.Activities outside of this definition are not included in the pause.

Electric Vehicles and Heat Pumps

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether officials in his Department have held discussions with representatives of network operators on the adequacy of the network's capacity to meet demand for heat pumps from 2025 and electric vehicle charging from 2023.

Greg Hands: While network regulation is a matter for Ofgem, the Government maintains regular dialogue with network operators including on their plans to prepare for heat pump and electric vehicle charging rollout. Effective integration of technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles will enable more flexible consumption, helping minimise network and system costs.

Heat Pumps: Manufacturing Industries

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to support the domestic heat pump manufacturing industry in advance of the implementation of the Future Homes Standard in 2025.

Greg Hands: The Government is putting in place a package of measures to build a globally competitive UK heat pump manufacturing sector. This includes policies to help build demand for heat pumps, like the £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme, as well as those that incentivise inward investment in the supply chain, such as the Super Deduction Capital Allowance Scheme and the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition. There has already been significant investment in the UK heat pump supply chain over the past 12 months from companies like Mitsubishi, Octopus Energy, Vaillant and Ideal Heating, and the Government expects this growth to continue.

Heat Pumps

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has a record of the number of trained heat pump installers in 2021.

Greg Hands: The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) reports that over 1300 businesses are certified to install heat pumps under its scheme and estimates that this includes approximately 4,000 installers in the UK, up from approximately 3,500 at the end of 2021. The total number of trained installers is, however, likely to be greater than this, as MCS Certification is only required for installations receiving Government grant funding. The Government has commissioned further research into the existing heating and cooling installer workforce in England, which will be completed later this year.

Heat Pumps

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to provide support for gas boilers installers retraining as heat pump installers in advance of the implementation of the Future Homes Standard in 2025.

Greg Hands: The Government is working closely with industry to support gas boiler installers retraining to install heat pumps. In September 2020 the Government launched a £6 million skills competition to provide training opportunities for the energy-efficiency and low-carbon heating supply chains, including heat pump training for over 2000 heating engineers. The Government is developing plans for a further Skills Training Competition in 2022/23 and intends to continue work with industry to support retraining.

Heat Pumps

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a heat pump installer certification scheme, similar to the Gas Safe Register, to protect consumers who are purchasing heat pumps.

Greg Hands: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Strangford on 1st July 2022 to Question 22437.

Heat Pumps

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase consumer awareness of heat pumps in advance of the implementation of the Future Homes Standard in 2025.

Greg Hands: The Government is working to review and improve its communication to ensure that the public has access to the information and advice they need to make the right decisions. The Government has recently published a series of heat pump user case studies and heat pump user guides with Energy Systems Catapult. There is also further information and advice on heat pumps available through Simple Energy Advice service and the recently launched ‘Check if your home could be suitable for a heat pump’ calculator on GOV.UK.

Coal Authority

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2022 to Question 165 on Coal Authority: Climate Change, if he will make it his policy to revise the duties of the Coal Authority in respect of licensing, as set out in the Coal Industry Act 1994, to act in accordance with the UK’s obligations under international climate treaties, including the (a) Paris Agreement and (b) Glasgow Climate Pact.

Greg Hands: The Government is committed to phasing out coal from electricity generation by 2024. Demand for new coal licences has fallen away as a consequence, and there are only a small number of potential coal projects that could result in new coal mining, and only with the consent of the relevant planning authorities. The Government keeps the Coal Authority’s duties under review, but in view of the low demand for new coal extraction projects, there are currently no plans to revise the duties with respect to licensing coal extraction.

Fracking

Craig Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the review of the scientific evidence on shale gas extraction submitted to his Department by the British Geological Survey on 5 July 2022, when he plans to announce his Department's future shale gas policy.

Greg Hands: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 6 July 2022 to Question 28901.

Alternative Fuels

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of supporting the development of synthetic fuels.

Greg Hands: The supply of low carbon fuels, including synthetic, will help reduce the environmental impact of transport. For example, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), on average, could achieve over 70% emissions savings on a lifecycle basis. Presented in the Jet Zero Strategy, the Government aims to build a UK SAF industry that could support up to 5,200 jobs and Gross Value Added of up to £2.7bn. The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund will support sites to switch to low carbon fuels (synthetic fuel production is not within scope). The Red Diesel Replacement competition has a Phase 1 project working towards producing synthetic fuel.

Park Homes: Energy Bills Rebate

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that residents of park homes can benefit from the Government's energy support measures.

Greg Hands: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for St Albans on 20th June 2022 to Question 18990.

Fuel Oil: Prices

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to support households that are reliant on domestic heating oil in the event of further rises in energy costs in winter 2022.

Greg Hands: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to the noble Lord Allen of Kensington on 5 July 2022 to Question HL1128.

Small Businesses: Carbon Emissions

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department is providing to SMEs to move towards a net zero economy.

Greg Hands: Taking action on climate change will help businesses to grow, seize new opportunities and adapt against the challenges of a changing planet. The first step SMEs can take is to visit the UK Business Climate Hub and sign up to the globally recognised SME Climate Commitment. Here SMEs can also get help and advice on how to be greener and save money.Additionally, almost £5 billion of funding is available to help UK businesses become greener as part of the government’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The latest funding opportunities can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-funding-to-help-your-business-become-greener.

Energy: Conservation

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason his Department's net zero expenditure plans for theenergy efficiency of buildings is being reduced from £1.3 billion in 2021-22 to £0.7 billion in 2023-23.

Greg Hands: The Government is investing over £6.6 billion over this parliament to improve energy efficiency and decarbonise heating. The spending profiles of Government schemes reflect the need for Local Authorities and Housing Associations to deliver over financial years, supported by their local supply chains. The ECO4 order has now been laid, and debates have taken place in both Houses. The Government expects regulations to come into force this month. The scheme is worth £1bn per annum and will run from 2022 – 2026.

Attorney General

War Crimes: Russia

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Attorney General, whether her Department is providing support to the office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine in prosecuting war crimes.

Edward Timpson: The Government is appalled by the atrocities being committed in Ukraine by Russian forces, including the targeting of civilians, mass graves, and rape and sexual violence being used as weapons of war. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine, at the forefront of international efforts to ensure there is no impunity. The Attorney General personally had a long and very fruitful dialogue with the former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, having signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with her to underline UK support for her Office’s work investigating and prosecuting crimes committed in the course of the conflict. The Attorney General visited the former Prosecutor General in Ukraine and hosted her for a two-day visit in London at the end of May. We look forward to continuing working closely with the Prosecutor General’s Office. Importantly, the Attorney General appointed Sir Howard Morrison QC, one of the UK’s leading war crimes lawyers, to support the Prosecutor General directly on Ukraine’s domestic investigations. The Attorney General also convened a meeting of the Quintet of Attorneys General from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with Prosecutor General Venediktova. Following this meeting, we published a joint statement which makes clear our countries’ support for Ukraine’s domestics war crimes investigations and prosecutions, and our commitment to work together with the Prosecutor General and Office of the Prosecutor General to ensure every perpetrator faces justice. The preservation and collection of evidence is vital. The UK, together with the United States and EU, has launched the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) to directly support the War Crimes Units of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine in its investigation and prosecution of conflict-related crimes. The ACA seeks to streamline coordination and communication efforts to ensure best practices, avoid duplication of efforts, and encourage the expeditious deployment of financial resources and skilled personnel to respond to the needs of the Office of the Prosecutor General as the legally constituted authority in Ukraine responsible for dealing with the prosecution of war crimes on its own territory. This shows the Government’s clear commitment to supporting Ukraine in its investigations. We will continue to work with Ukraine, partners and international mechanisms in their investigations and to collect and preserve evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. Those responsible will be held to account.

Belfast Agreement: European Convention on Human Rights

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, if she make assessment of the potential effect of the UK leaving the European Convention on Human Rights on the operation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the compatibility of the UK leaving the European Convention on Human Rights with the continued operation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Edward Timpson: By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.

VAT: EU Law

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the review of EU retained law, what discussions she has had with the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and her officials on the legal risk of (a) applying sunset clauses to and (b) attempting to codify the existing applications of VAT rules in the UK derived from EU case law concerning the (i) definition of business and (ii) abuse principle.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Government's review of EU retained law, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the legal risk of (a) applying sunset clauses to and (b) attempting to codify the existing applications of VAT rules in the UK derived from EU case law concerning the (i) definition of business and (ii) abuse principle.

Edward Timpson: By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.

Legal Profession

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the (a) application of legal professional privilege to (i) Ministers and (ii) Government employees and (b) the limits of that privilege.

Edward Timpson: By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.

Covid-19 Inquiry

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the likelihood of the Government being subject to claims for damages from bereaved families during or after the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

Edward Timpson: By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.

Covid-19 Inquiry

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether (a) she, (b) the Solicitor General or (b) his predecessor have had discussions with the First Treasury Counsel on (i) the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, (ii) disclosures to that inquiry and (iii) potential restrictions on the release of sensitive covid-19 related information.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether (a) she, (b) the Solicitor General or (c) his predecessor have had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on (i) the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, (ii) disclosures to that inquiry and (iii) potential restrictions on the release of sensitive covid-19 related information.

Edward Timpson: By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government. This convention protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to implement a covid-19 vaccination programme in autumn 2022.

Maggie Throup: The Government accepted the JCVI’s advice to offer an autumn booster vaccination to residents and staff in a care home for older adults; all adults aged 50 years old and over; those aged five to 49 years old in a clinical risk group or who are household contacts of someone with immunosuppression; frontline health and social care workers; and carers aged 16 years old and over.The National Health Service is working with providers to plan for the autumn campaign to establish a network of sites which are accessible to local populations. On 22 June, NHS England wrote systems setting out plans for COVID-19 and routine vaccination, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2022/06/C1666-next-steps-for-covid-19-vaccination-22-06-22.pdfFurther information on the delivery of the programme, including details on the invitations for patient cohorts, will be available in due course.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) ensure that cancer patients in Ealing, Southall constituency begin their treatment within a maximum of 62 days of an urgent GP referral and (b) reduce average waiting times for cancer care treatment in that constituency.

James Morris: London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust has established rapid diagnostic clinics to allow patients presenting with non-specific symptoms to obtain rapid diagnostics. This includes magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans to detect potential cancers at the earliest opportunity. Since April 2022, the Trust has focus on lower gastrointestinal care pathways to improve waiting time performance.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has requested guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the potential merits of an autumn booster covid-19 vaccine programme for the general population.

Maggie Throup: The Government continues to be guided by the advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on COVID-19 vaccinations. On 15 July 2022, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice to offer an autumn booster vaccination to increase immunity in those at higher risk from COVID-19 and protect against severe illness, hospitalisation and death in winter 2022/23. The booster dose will be offered to residents and staff in a care home for older adults; all adults aged 50 years old and over; those aged five to 49 years old in a clinical risk group or who are household contacts of someone with immunosuppression; frontline health and social care workers; and carers aged 16 years old and over.

Strokes

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have suffered a stroke in hospital after admission for other conditions in each month from May 2021 to April 2022.

James Morris: The information requested is not collected in the format requested. While data on the number of finished consultant episodes in 2021/22 is currently being collated and audited, this does not record the number of individual patients. A person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.

Personality Disorders: Diagnosis

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of diagnosis of personality disorders in (a) adults and (b) adolescents in the last five years.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. The ‘Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014’ records the prevalence of and trends in personality disorders in those aged 18 to 64 years old. The Survey is available at the following link:Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014. - NHS DigitalThe next Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey is expected to commence in 2022, with the final report to be published in 2024.The ‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2017’ survey provides estimates of the prevalence of specific disorders, including behavioural disorders for children and young people. These disorders are generally only diagnosed in children and young people and the presence in childhood is required for certain adult psychiatric diagnoses, such as antisocial personality disorder. The survey is available at the following link:Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2017 [PAS] - NHS Digital

General Practitioners: Vacancies

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the shortage of GPs in (a) Hounslow (b) London (c) England.

James Morris: No specific estimate has been made as there is no recommended minimum number of general practitioners (GPs) within a practice. GPs form part of a multidisciplinary team in primary care and ensuring that the appropriate skills are available in general practice can address workloads and deliver high quality patient care. Through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, we are recruiting 26,000 primary care professionals, with over 18,000 currently in post.In 2016, we launched the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme in 2016 which provides a one off financial incentive of £20,000 to attract doctors to train in locations where it has been difficult to recruit staff. In 2021, 550 places were available through the Scheme, with additional Government investment ensuring there will be 800 places in 2022, with six posts in Hounslow and 77 across London.

NHS: Innovation

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) align the Medical Technologies Directorate’s upcoming Strategy with the NHS’s duty to promote innovation, including within integrated care systems and (b) ensure that medical technologies and digital health solutions are included in plans to tackle NHS backlogs and level up health and care outcomes across the country.

Maria Caulfield: The Medical Technology Directorate’s forthcoming Strategy aims to establish frameworks to ensure consistency in the use of medical technology in the National Health Service and increase the sharing of expertise.The strategy intends to assist with the identification, development and promotion of new medical technologies and digital solutions to reduce health inequalities and improve patient outcomes. This includes working with NHS England on the launch of community diagnostic centres to reduce backlogs for diagnostic tests through new technologies to increase efficiency.

Hospitals: Children

Sir Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of hospital stays of more than two months for children in each of the last three years for which records are available.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows the number of hospital stays where the duration was greater than 60 days for patients aged between 0 and 17 years old in each of the last three years where data is available. Data for 2021/22 is currently being collated and centrally validated.2018/194,5982019/204,5622020/213,894 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS DigitalHospital Episode Statistics figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time should be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage and changes in National Health Service practice. The decrease in the number of hospital stays of more than two months for children for 2020/21 is due to the overall reduction in hospital activity in 2020/21.Hospital Episode Statistics include activity ending in the year in question from 1 April to 31 March 2013. A discharge episode is the last episode during a hospital stay (a spell), where the patient is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another hospital. Discharges do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one discharge from hospital within the period.

Chronic Illnesses: Medical Treatments

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 23448 on Chronic Illnesses: Medical Treatments, whether his Department has undertaken a comparative assessment of international access to innovative medicines for people with long-term health conditions.

James Morris: No specific assessment has been made. However, the Office for Life Sciences produces the annual ‘Life Science Competitiveness Indicators’ which includes international comparisons on the percentage of new medicines available, time to availability for new medicines and uptake of new medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which measures relative adoption of new medicines in the United Kingdom in comparison to other countries. In 2021, NHS England published the International Comparison Medicines Uptake report on treatments for cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, varenicline-assisted smoking cessation and hepatitis C, which aims to establish a methodology in order to make international comparisons of medicines uptake.

NHS: Facsimile Transmission

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of fax machines that are in use across NHS England as of 11 July 2022.

Maria Caulfield: We have no plans to make a specific estimate.

Drugs: High Wycombe

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle disparities in regional medicine supply in High Wycombe in comparison to other areas in NHS England.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has established processes to prevent, manage and mitigate medicine shortages in England, including in High Wycombe. We work with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry and the National Health Service to maintain overall supply. Local pharmacies have specific commercial arrangements in place to ensure the continuity of supplies.

Diabetes and Obesity: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using technology based on breathing lower amounts of oxygen while asleep to treat type 2 diabetes and weight loss.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has provided guidance to NHS England on the clinical and cost effectiveness of selected new and established technologies.

Life Sciences

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further steps he is taking to promote the UK as a global life sciences superpower.

James Morris: The Department’s forthcoming Medtech Strategy will set out further actions to promote competition, transparency and innovation and the United Kingdom’s life sciences sector.It will align with the Life Science Vision, which prioritised building capability in research and development, supporting the role of the National Health Service in innovation and creating a business environment which encourages investment in life sciences. In addition, the Department and the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency will implement regulatory reforms to enable the early adoption of innovative medical devices and treatments and enhance the attractiveness of the UK as a place to do business.

Drugs: Labelling

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to help ensure that medicines are labelled to indicate whether they are suitable for (a) vegetarians and (b) vegans.

Maria Caulfield: Part 13 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 states that the primary purpose of the label is to unambiguously identify the medicine and to convey key warning statements in relation to safe and effective use of the product. There is no legal requirement for a pharmaceutical manufacturer to state whether a medicine is suitable for vegetarians or vegans. However, the legislation allows for the inclusion of a statement such as ‘suitable for vegetarians/vegans’ where a manufacturer can provide evidence to demonstrate that no products of animal origin have been used in the manufacture of the ingredients or the medicine. Where such a statement on the labelling or in the patient information leaflet is proposed, the Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory Agency will evaluate the evidence supporting this statement to determine its validity.

Bowel Cancer: Bevacizumab

Andy Carter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to make Avastin available on the NHS for people with stage 3 or 4 bowel cancer.

Maria Caulfield: Bevacizumab (Avastin) is not routinely funded on the National Health Service in England. In 2012, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considered the clinical and cost-effectiveness of bevacizumab for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer in adults. However, it was unable to recommend the drug as an effective use of resources. NICE monitors new evidence which may affect its guidance and would consult on proposed changes with stakeholders if any such evidence emerges.Where a treatment is not routinely commissioned by the NHS, a patient’s clinician may submit an individual funding request if they consider it is in the patient’s best interests.

Medical Treatments

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the future projected need for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Technologies; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the proposed NHS England/NICE Innovative Medicines Fund to meet that need.

Maria Caulfield: No specific estimate has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended several advanced therapeutic medicinal products (ATMPs) which are now routinely funded for National Health Service patients.The Innovative Medicines Fund was recently launched to allow patients to benefit from early access to the most promising medicines where NICE is unable to recommend routine funding due to clinical uncertainty. This will support the rapid introduction of effective new medicines, including ATMPs.

Medical Treatments: Rare Diseases

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of the NICE highly specialised technologies evaluation process for advanced therapy medicinal products used to treat a range of rare and ultra-rare diseases.

Maria Caulfield: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended all of the advanced therapy medicinal products it has evaluated through its highly specialised technologies programme, which are now available to National Health Service patients.

Gynaecology: Waiting Lists

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to tackle regional variation in gynaecological waiting lists.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will take steps to tackle the regional variation of the size of gynaecological waiting lists.

Maria Caulfield: National Health Service regional teams and integrated care systems will collaborate to standardise how care is delivered care, ensure best practice is adopted and share capacity and resources to reduce unwarranted regional variation in waiting times for gynaecological services. We have allocated £8 billion for the next three years £8 billion over the next three years to increase activity in elective services in England and reduce waiting times, including for gynaecology services.We have also provided an additional £2.3 billion to establish up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to provide further capacity for those waiting for clinical tests, such as ultrasound scanning, blood tests and hysteroscopy to investigate heavy menstrual bleeding or post-menopausal bleeding. Funding for CDCs has been allocated to ensure that regions with unmet need receive additional resources to address regional variation.

Temperature: Health Hazards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what contingency plans he has in place to support the health needs of people during periods of extreme heat.

Maggie Throup: The health and social care system has well-established contingency plans in place to respond to increasing temperatures, through the ‘Heatwave Plan for England’ and National Health Service hot weather plans. The Heatwave Plan for England outlines how individuals and organisations can reduce health risks and includes specific measures to protect at-risk groups.

Monkeypox: Health Services

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to provide additional financial support to sexual health services to meet the demands of (a) assessing, (b) treating, (c) caring for, and (d) vaccinating people who are (i) affected by and (ii) at risk from monkeypox.

Maggie Throup: While no additional funding is planned, we have provided more than £3.4 billion to local authorities through the Public Health Grant to invest in essential frontline services, including sexual and reproductive health. The UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) is working with local authorities and system partners to contain the monkeypox outbreak, including the identification and management of infected cases. The UKHSA has also published a vaccine strategy, which includes advice on vaccination of individuals at increased risk.

Maternity Services: Research

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to undertake research into alternative methods of (a) maternity and (b) early post-natal care.

James Morris: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds research in maternal and neonatal health, focussing on the safety of maternity and neonatal services and the national maternity ambition to halve maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths and brain injury by 2025. The NIHR has funded a study to evaluate acupuncture and standard care for pregnant women with back pain. It also supports the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth group, which has reviewed alternative methods of maternity and post-natal care. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including alternative methods of maternity and early post-natal care.

Medicine: Research

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with his counterparts in the Devolved nations to discuss the role of clinical research in (a) driving better patient outcomes ad (b) fostering better innovative treatments for patients.

James Morris: We continue to meet regularly with the devolved administrations to discuss clinical research in the United Kingdom. ‘The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery: 2022 to 2025 implementation plan’ has been developed by the UK Government and the devolved administrations in collaboration with the clinical research community and delivery partners through the UK Clinical Research Recovery Resilience and Growth programme.

General Practitioners: Buildings

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the adequacy of GP premises in England, including alternative models of partnership owning, and (b) the cost needed to modernise such premises.

James Morris: In 2019, NHS England conducted a general practitioner (GP) premises policy review, which sought to identify potential needs and proposals for GP premises. NHS England is also currently undertaking a formal assessment of all primary care surgery premises under a primary care data collection programme. This will provide local and national oversight of the current capacity, suitability and ownership of all premises.The data collection programme is expected to be completed by March 2023, with infrastructure strategies completed by December 2024. This will provide an evidence-based assessment of the national cost to modernise GP premises.

Chronic Illnesses: Medical Treatments

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 23448 on Chronic Illnesses: Medical Treatments, when he plans to publish the life sciences roadmap; and whether that roadmap is planned to tackle unwarranted variation in the uptake of innovative medicines.

James Morris: We intend to publish an implementation update for the Life Sciences Vision in the autumn. Further measures to address unwarranted variation in the uptake of innovative medicines will be available following the publication of the implementation update.

Dental Services: Faversham and Mid Kent

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of NHS dentist appointments available for people in Faversham and Mid Kent constituency.

James Morris: In 2019, a review of mandatory dental services in Kent identified Faversham as an area of significant need. Following this review, National Health Service dental contracts were agreed with five new dental practices with an overall increase of 19 whole-time equivalent dentists.NHS England is currently preparing to procure further mandatory dental services in Kent, based on the current areas of greatest need. This will be aligned to the review being undertaken by NHS England and the South East Region Consultant in Dental Public Health.Since July 2022, NHS England has asked practices to deliver 100% of contracted units of dental activity to safely improve access for patients, including in Faversham and Mid Kent.The Department and NHS England have recently announced improvements to the NHS dental system to increase access, target patients with higher oral health needs and make NHS dentistry a more attractive place to work for dentists and their teams, including in Kent.

Clinical Trials: Genetically Modified Organisms

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on introducing a genetically modified organisms derogation to enable clinical trials for advanced therapies.

James Morris: We have had no specific discussions.

Clinical Trials

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many participants were recruited to industry sponsored clinical trials supported by the NIHR Clinical Research Network in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19, (c) 2019-20, (d) 2020-21 and (e) 2021-22.

James Morris: The information requested is shown in the following table.2017/1824,0732018/1929,4162019/2015,0062020/2128,5602021/2218,425

Clinical Trials

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of participants recruited to interventional studies supported by the NIHR Clinical Research Network were recruited to non-covid-19 clinical trials in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22.

James Morris: The information requested is shown in the following table.2019/2099.5%2020/2110%2021/2242%

Medicine: Research

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK's medical translational research capabilities; and what steps he is taking to improve those capabilities.

James Morris: No specific assessment has been made as the United Kingdom’s capability to deliver medical research is dependent on a variety of organisations, including funders, regulators, and research organisations.The majority of the Government’s investment in medical research is made through the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2016, the NIHR reviewed its performance in health research in the previous 10 years and identified areas to improve the UK’s research capabilities. In 2019, the MRC reviewed its support for translational research over the past 10 years and how this could be enhanced.

General Practitioners

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to expand the use of multi-disciplinary teams in general practice.

James Morris: To support Primary Care Networks, the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) provides funding for 26,000 additional roles to create multi-disciplinary teams in general practice. There are 15 roles available under the ARRS to assist practices to provide patients with a range of services to meet local need.‘Next steps for integrating primary care: Fuller stocktake report’ states that primary care teams should provide personalised care for patients to improve outcomes. The report recommends the formation of integrated neighbourhood teams, with primary care and community services working with partners on health prevention.

NHS: Innovation

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Health and Care Act 2022, what steps the Government plans to take to drive innovation within the NHS.

James Morris: The Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) works with leaders from the life sciences sector to increase innovation within the National Health Service. The AAC aims to ensure that innovation is accelerated and available to clinicians and patients and that the sector in the United Kingdom benefits patients, industry and the economy. Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) are commissioned by the AAC to support the NHS to address health and care challenges. The AHSNs work with industry to obtain evidence of the benefits of new products and support early implementation in the NHS.The Department continues to work with the NHS and the AAC to ensure that best practice in enabling innovation is communicated to integrated care boards and to support AHSNs’ engagement to increase the adoption of innovation adoption.

Integrated Care Systems: Innovation

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to ensure that a dedicated Chief Innovation Officer is appointed into every Integrated care system.

James Morris: The Health and Care Act 2022 requires integrated care boards to consider the necessary skills, knowledge and experience required in its membership, including in its duty to promote innovation.

Integrated Care Systems: Innovation

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether plans to promote innovation within Integrated care systems will include the development of an innovation strategy within every ICS.

James Morris: The Health and Care Act 2022 places a legal duty on integrated care boards (ICBs) to promote innovation and set out how this will be achieved in forward planning and annual reports. In addition, ICB chief executives and chairs are accountable for fostering a culture of innovation. Innovation has been embedded in the National Health Service’s implementation guidance for the development of integrated care systems (ICSs). The Department is currently exploring how innovation can be included in statutory guidance, including for integrated care strategies. The Department is also working with the NHS, the Accelerated Access Collaborative and Academic Health Science Networks to ensure that priorities for innovation over one to three years are agreed with ICSs.

Health: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of women's health of the split commissioning of women’s health services.

Maria Caulfield: The Health and Care Act 2022 will contribute to greater integration between health and social care and prevention and generate significant health benefits to the population. These include increased independence, improved quality of care, reduced preventable admissions and re-admissions into hospitals and higher patient satisfaction. The Act will remove barriers to data sharing, enabling joint decision-making and increase workforce integration. It will also embed more power and autonomy for local systems. The recently published Women’s Health Strategy and the forthcoming Sexual and Reproductive Health Action Plan set out plans to improve health outcomes for women and the general population. We continue to engage with stakeholders, including local authorities and commissioners, NHS England and integrated care systems in the development of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Action Plan.

Health Professions: Vacancies

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the number of advertised physician posts in England and Wales going unfilled.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made.The Department has commissioned Health Education England to review long term strategic trends for the health and regulated social care workforce. This will ensure we have the appropriate skills and behaviours to deliver high standards of care. In addition, we have commissioned NHS England to develop a long term plan for workforce, which will include assessments of supply and demand. The outcomes will be available in due course.

Protective Clothing: Waste Disposal

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the total cost of disposing unusable personal protective equipment between 29 June 2020 and 29 June 2022.

Maria Caulfield: We have no plans to make a specific estimate. However, 3% of personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased during the pandemic is not fit for any purpose, a small proportion of which will be disposed of. The Department is redistributing excess stock through selling, repurposing, donating, recycling and disposal, following the Government’s waste hierarchy.

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust: Mental Health Services

Kate Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made to the number of acute psychiatric beds in the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

Gillian Keegan: As of 10 July 2022, there were 223 acute psychiatric beds in the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

Care Homes: Carers

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of care home residents who have an essential care giver; what assessment he has made of whether that proportion has increased during the covid-19 outbreak; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of adults in England who have a close relative in a care home who has been informed that care home residents are entitled to visits from an essential care giver in the event that that home is in lockdown.

Gillian Keegan: No specific estimate has been made as the Government’s guidance no longer refers to essential care givers. The Government's updated guidance now states that residents should receive visits from loved ones, including during outbreaks of infectious diseases within a home or when a resident is in isolation, where the guidance states each resident may have at least one visitor.However, in the week ending 29 June 2022, 95.4% of care homes in England accommodated residents receiving visitors.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is available in all NHS Trusts in England.

Gillian Keegan: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) interventional procedures guidance on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression, published in December 2015, found the procedure was safe and effective for use in the National Health Service, although the benefits vary among patients. There is no legal requirement for the National Health Service to implement this specific form of NICE’s guidance. While it is considered best clinical practice, NHS commissioners and providers are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of the local population.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy; and what his policy is on whether that therapy should be a (a) voluntary or (b) mandatory treatment.

Gillian Keegan: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) assessment found electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to be an effective treatment for certain subgroups of individuals with mental disorders. However, it recognised that there remained a number of uncertainties, including a lack of information on longer term outcomes and the negative experiences of some individuals who have undergone ECT.NICE recommends that ECT is used only to achieve rapid and short-term improvement of severe symptoms, after an adequate trial of other treatment options has proven ineffective and/or when the condition is considered to be potentially life-threatening, in individuals with catatonia or a prolonged or severe manic episode. These guidelines recommend that a decision should be made on case by case basis and that a risk–benefit assessment is made of the individual to determine if ECT is appropriate. NICE’s ‘Guidance on the use of electroconvulsive therapy’ and ‘Depression in adults: treatment and management’ are available at the following links:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta59https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng222/chapter/Recommendations#electroconvulsive-therapy-for-depressionThe Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 allow for ECT to be administered in particular circumstances, without the person’s consent. The Independent Review of the Mental Health Act recommended further safeguards around the use of urgent ECT without the patient’s consent or where it conflicts with an advance decision, which the draft Mental Health Bill seeks to address.

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust: Mental Health Services

Kate Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many inpatients for mental health services had to be moved outside of the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust area in the last (a) 6 months, (b) 12 months and (c) 5 years.

Gillian Keegan: The information requested is shown in the following table.Last six months27Last 12 months44Last five years167 Those who require inpatient care are treated as close to home as possible. The NHS Long Term Plan committed to eliminate all inappropriate acute out of area placements for people aged 18 years old and over. We continue to work with NHS England to monitor the implementation of this commitment. All systems which have inappropriate out of area placements are required to refresh local plans to ensure these placements are eliminated as soon as reasonably possible.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Mental Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of assessment and treatment pathways that are available for people who are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Gillian Keegan: ‘The Independent Review of the Mental Health Act’ assessed the provisions in the Mental Health Act 1983, including the assessment and treatment pathways available for those detained. We are implementing the majority of the Independent Review’s recommendations in the draft Mental Health Bill, which proposes reforms to improve assessment and treatment pathways. This includes revisions to the criteria for detention under the Act, to ensure that detention is based on providing a therapeutic benefit to the individual and the introduction of new treatment safeguards to ensure that treatment is based on the patient’s wishes, preferences and individual needs as far as possible and that compulsory medication is only used in limited circumstances.

Mental Health Services: Refugees

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of refugees relocated to the UK under the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme who have requested access to mental health services.

Gillian Keegan: No specific estimate has been made as this information is not collected centrally. Local areas have established trauma-informed psychological and emotional support services for Afghan refugees led by clinicians with expertise in trauma-informed care. In 2021, £3 million was provided to the National Health Service for an enhanced healthcare offer for people arriving through Afghan resettlement schemes. All Afghan refugees have now registered with a general practitioner or are being helped to do so.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for treatment in Children's and Adolescent Mental Health Services in England.

Gillian Keegan: This information is not held in the format requested as there are currently no waiting time standards for these services. Data is available where a waiting time standard is in place, including early intervention in psychosis and children and young people’s eating disorder service, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-mental-health-dashboard/In February 2022, NHS England published the outcome of a consultation on the potential to introduce five new access and waiting time standards for mental health services, including for children, young people and their families and carers presenting to community-based mental health services to receive care within four weeks from referral. We are now working with NHS England on the next steps.

Out-patients: Monitoring

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 23446, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) cost savings and (b) clinical benefits of increasing funding for remote monitoring in all integrated care systems in 2023-24.

Gillian Keegan: A recent study of 507 people, with a control group, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed shorter lengths of stay, fewer readmissions and reductions in visits to emergency departments for those in receipt of home monitoring. These measures reduced costs and patients rated their care more highly. A regional programme is underway until the end of March 2023 to increase home monitoring and virtual wards to enable more people to recover at home supported by the appropriate technology.While there are no current plans to increase central funding, it is expected that integrated care systems will continue to invest in these areas.

Mental Health Services: Vacancies

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff vacancies there are within Mental Health Trusts, by job role, as of 19 July 2022.

Gillian Keegan: This information is not held in the format requested. While NHS Digital collects data on vacancies in National Health Service trusts, it does not record information on all job roles other than registered nursing and medical staff.In March 2022, there were 22,677 full-time equivalent vacancies in mental health trusts. Of this, there were 11,239 registered nursing vacancies and 1,515 vacancies for medical staff.

Mental Health Services: Refugees

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support Ukrainian refugees with their mental health.

Gillian Keegan: Guidance for Ukrainian arrivals has been developed on accessing health services, including mental health support, in addition to guidance for health care professionals. Arrivals on the Ukraine Family and Homes for Ukraine visa schemes are entitled to free health care, including mental health services. Where arrivals experience symptoms of poor mental health, evidence-based treatment is available via a general practitioner and the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS Digital's report, Out of Area Placements in Mental Health Services, published in April 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for regional variations in the number of patients being admitted to inappropriate out of area placements as a result of no appropriate mental health services being available locally.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England works with local areas to manage local capacity and understand the challenges which may result in out of area placements.To prevent out of area placements, efforts are made to reduce the number of patients in mental health beds experiencing long stays; ensure investment in and operation of community based and local authority mental health services; and enable senior clinical and operational leadership to manage patient flow on a daily basis.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to improve the quality of data reporting on patients being admitted to inappropriate out of area placements as a result of no appropriate mental health services being available locally.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken steps to encourage NHS trusts to collect data on patients being admitted to inappropriate out of area placements as a result of no appropriate mental health services being available locally.

Gillian Keegan: The Department works with NHS England and NHS Digital to provide governance for the development of the Mental Health Service Dataset (MHSDS) and improve data quality, including data for out of area placements.NHS England and NHS Digital are working with trusts to ensure that the high submission rate of data for out of area placements continues and with NHS England and NHS Digital, we aim to improve the submission of data from private providers for the MHSDS.

Health Services and Social Services: Training

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure all health and care staff are adequately trained to support (a) people who are dying and (b) their families.

Gillian Keegan: Individual National Health Service employers are responsible for ensuring that staff are trained and competent for the role they perform. NHS England has developed training for staff on personalised care planning for those in the last year of life, which can include the individual’s family and others, where appropriate. This allows health and care staff supporting those at the end of life and their loved ones to address any concerns and identify the appropriate services.To ensure that health and social care workforce, including volunteers, are equipped to deliver personalised care, Health Education England host the End of life care for all e-learning programme, which includes nine modules on improving care for people at the end of life. The e-learning modules are available at the following link:https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/end-of-life-care/

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS Digital's report, Out of Area Placements in Mental Health Services, published in April 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for 205,990 days being spent by patients in inappropriate out of area placements in 2021-22 as a result of no appropriate mental health services being available locally.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England has advised that many local systems are experiencing high levels of acuity, new presentations and the backlog of treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, some areas are experiencing staff absences and delayed discharges which has caused local beds to be unavailable in a timely way. All systems which have inappropriate out of area placements are required to refresh the local plans to ensure these placements are eliminated soon as reasonably possible. We continue to monitor such placements with NHS England.

Dementia: Health Services

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of dementia care in England.

Gillian Keegan: The Department has issued guidance ‘After diagnosis of dementia: what to expect from health and care services’, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/after-a-diagnosis-of-dementia-what-to-expect-from-health-and-care-services/after-diagnosis-of-dementia-what-to-expect-from-health-and-care-services The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence’s Quality Standard on Dementia, includes guidelines for offering activities such as exercise, aromatherapy, art, gardening, baking, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, mindfulness and animal assisted therapy to help promote wellbeing. The Quality Standard is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/QS184 We are reviewing plans for dementia in England and further information will be available in due course.

Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking  to help reduce barriers that prevent patients being discharged from mental health services; and if he will undertake a review of the provision of mental health rehabilitation services.

Gillian Keegan: In 2021/22, we provided an additional £116 million to support safe and appropriate discharge from mental health inpatient units. NHS England is investing approximately £1 billion in new models of community mental health services in England by 2023/24 to prevent admissions occurring and enable patients to be discharged more quickly when an admission is necessary. These models will also deliver dedicated community-based services for people with mental health rehabilitation needs, which aims to support more people within less restrictive settings locally and reduce the number of out of area placements.NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time programme recently published a report following a national review of mental health rehabilitation services. NHS England is currently reviewing the report’s recommendations. The report is available at the following link:https://www.gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/medical-specialties/mental-health/

Care Homes: West Midlands

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the timely discharge of patients back into the care sector from (a) Heartlands Hospital, (b) Queen Elizabeth Hospital, (c) Good Hope Hospital and (d) Solihull Hospital Birmingham.

Gillian Keegan: The Department’s hospital discharge guidance sets out that local systems should adopt discharge processes to meet the needs of the local population. Birmingham City Council uses a discharge to assess model which enables patients in the Heartlands, Good Hope and Queen Elizabeth hospitals to be discharged with care and support whilst the full assessment is undertaken outside of hospital.This guidance states that local areas may select the appropriate funding mechanisms to support timely hospital discharge, such as the Better Care Fund (BCF). Through the BCF, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is establishing initiatives to support timely hospital discharge from Solihull Hospital Birmingham. A home discharge service has been established to support 95% of those ready to be discharged to return home on the same day and an early response service to prevent hospital admissions by providing care visits. Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is also working with the voluntary sector to deliver a ‘Home from Hospital’ service, which provides support to newly discharged patients through such tasks as shopping.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of mental health patients admitted to out of area placements.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number inappropriate out of area placements as a result of no appropriate mental health services being available locally, including the provision of additional and appropriately staffed inpatient beds in some local areas.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to tackle the use of inappropriate out of area placements as a result of no appropriate mental health services being available locally.

Gillian Keegan: We are providing an additional £2.3 billion a year for mental health services by 2023/24 to expand adult community, crisis and acute mental health services to prevent avoidable deterioration and hospital admission and ensure sufficient mental health bed capacity. We are also investing £150 million in the mental health estate to increase system capacity and reduce pressures, including non-medical alternatives to admission, step-down community beds and supported living services. All systems with inappropriate out of area placements are required to refresh local plans to ensure these placements are eliminated as soon as reasonably possible.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of staffing numbers in mental health services.

Gillian Keegan: As of March 2022, there were 133,391 full-time equivalent staff in the National Health Service mental health in NHS trusts and foundation trusts. This is an increase of over 24,200 since March 2016.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide an estimate of the number of patients with (a) a learning disability and (b) autism who were admitted to an inappropriate out of area placement because appropriate local services were not available in each year since 2010.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the average length of stay in an inappropriate out of area placement by patients with (a) a learning disability and (b) autism who were admitted to that placement because appropriate local services were not available.

Gillian Keegan: This information is not held centrally in the format requested.

Mental Health Services: Children and  Young People

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for mental health support for children and young adults.

Gillian Keegan: We are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year to enable a further two million people in England, including 345,000 young people, to access National Health Service-funded mental health support by 2023/24.In 2021/22, we also provided £500 million to target those groups most affected by the pandemic, including children and young people.  Of this funding, £79 million was allocated to allow approximately 22,500 additional children and young people to access community health services; a further 2,000 to access eating disorder services; and accelerate the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges. We have also invested £13 million to ensure young adults aged 18 to 25 years old, including university students, can receive tailored mental health support.There are currently 287 mental health support teams in place in approximately 4,700 schools and colleges, offering support to children experiencing anxiety, depression and other common mental health issues. This will increase to 399 teams, covering 35% of pupils, by April 2023, with more than 500 teams planned by 2024.In February, NHS England published the outcomes of its consultation on the potential to introduce five new access and waiting time standards for mental health services. This includes a standard for children, young people and their families or carers presenting to community-based mental health services, should receive care within four weeks from referral. We are now working with NHS England on the next steps.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs: West Midlands

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of vacancies in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools for roles with SEND responsibilities in (i) Birmingham and (ii) the West Midlands.

Will Quince: Information on the school workforce in state-funded schools in England, including the number of teacher vacancies and temporarily filled posts, is published in the annual ‘school workforce in England’ national statistics site, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england. The latest information is as of November 2021. Information on the role of staff vacancies, such as special educational needs and disabilities responsibilities, is not collected by the department.

Special Educational Needs

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department plans to provide to parents of children who are unable to attend school due to their (a) special educational needs and (b) disabilities.

Will Quince: Local authorities have a range of strategies for supporting parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities whose children are unable to attend school due to their specific needs. This will depend on the nature of the child’s needs, but support services such as education welfare officers, educational psychologists and specialist teachers are often involved in such casework. Where the child’s needs relate to a special educational need and the child has an Education Health and Care plan, the local authority will work with the family and other agencies to secure the provision outlined in the plan. Depending on the nature of the child’s needs, the local authority will also work with the family of securing attendance at school, where that is appropriate. The department’s guidance, 'Working together to improve School Attendance', published in May 2022, is designed to improve the monitoring and tracking of attendance to spot problems earlier and facilitate better, more targeted multi-agency support with improved join up of early help services, external partners and support services. This is intended to improve the consistency of support offered to pupils and families, replicating effective practices across England. The guidance is also clear that schools and local authorities should be working with pupils and parents to overcome barriers to attendance. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.

Teachers: West Midlands

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of teacher training placements that have been filled for the 2022-23 intake in (a) chemistry, (b) computing, (c) mathematics and (d) physics in (i) Birmingham and (ii) the West Midlands.

Will Quince: As of 19 June 2022, the number of candidates who have been recruited or have accepted offers (pending conditions) to start a postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) course (excluding High Potential ITT) in the 2022/23 academic year with an ITT provider in the West Midlands is: 53 for chemistry, 47 for computing, 176 for mathematics and 37 for physics.[1] ITT recruitment data is available by subject and region. The department does not hold analysis of the number of acceptances at a local authority district level.  [1] The data provided counts all acceptances by the area of the provider the student applied to. Provider areas are derived from their contact address. These areas may be different to where students do their training. The data provided is based on the region of the training provider, not the accrediting provider.

Selective Schools Expansion Fund

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he expects that there will be further rounds of the Selective Schools Expansion Fund following that held in 2019-20.

Will Quince: The department will not be running any further rounds of the Selective Schools Expansion Fund.

Pupils: Assessments

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that political and Ministerial changes at his Department do not affect the (a) smooth running of this year’s exams and (b) his Department's ability to address any issues arising from them.

Will Quince: The responsibility for maintaining standards in exams lies with Ofqual, the independent regulator of qualifications. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is assured that the exam boards and Ofqual have well established processes in place to manage any issues arising with the delivery of exams and awarding and are keeping the department informed. This is not affected by political or ministerial changes.

Pupil Exclusions: Ethnic Groups

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to tackle the disproportionate rates of school exclusions of black children.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is available for parents to challenge the decision of school governing boards on student exclusions, in the event that parents consider racial discrimination to be a factor.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: Published in 2019, the Timpson Review of School Exclusions illustrated a complex picture and identified that there is no substantial difference in permanent exclusion rates, when comparing all ethnic minority children as a whole with white British children. However, the department recognises that certain groups of children are more likely to be permanently excluded, although local context means there will be different patterns across the country.The updated suspension and permanent exclusion guidance, published 13 July 2022, sets out that it is vital that schools, local authorities, and local partners work together to understand what lies behind local trends. Local leaders should use this understanding to plan and put in place additional and targeted action. If they identify any gaps, they should act to ensure those who work with children have the training, services, and support they need to address them.Under the Equality Act 2010, schools also have a legal duty not to discriminate against pupils. Ofsted’s assessment of behaviour in schools includes specific consideration of rates, patterns, and reasons for exclusions, as well as any differences between groups of pupils.If a parent believes that any form of discrimination has been a factor in their child’s exclusion, they can make a claim to the first-tier tribunal in relation to disability, or a county court for other forms of discrimination.

Pupil Exclusions: Hertfordshire

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of exclusions from schools in Hertfordshire were of (a) pupils with SEND and (b) black pupils in 2020-21.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The requested information is not yet available for the 2020/21 academic year. This is due to be published on 28 July 2022.Information for the 2019/20 academic year and earlier academic years is available in the Office for National Statistics’ release ‘Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England’, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england.The following data has been produced from the ‘Explore data and files section’. It includes details of permanent exclusions and suspensions by characteristic (pupils with special educational needs and disabilities and black pupils), from 2006 to 2019 in Hertfordshire: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9aa11aed-bd1a-43a2-9c3a-d891128d54b8.

Schools: Inspections

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will hold discussions with Ofsted on the potential merits of a protocol to enable formal confidential briefing to hon. Members by Ofsted on their results of local authority inspections in advance of publication.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: As set out in the guidance for inspecting local authority children’s services, the report is embargoed until publication and local MPs have full access when reports are fully published. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspecting-local-authority-childrens-services-from-2018/inspecting-local-authority-childrens-services. Local council leaders should be made aware of the outcome of the inspections in advance of publication, as this is clearly set out in inspectors’ feedback to senior officers (such as the director of children’s services). Current protocol enables the local authority to share this intelligence with their local MPs if they wish to do so at any stage before publication. It is not within Ofsted's powers to disclose such confidential information prior to publication and the decision sits firmly with the local authority.

Ministry of Justice

Drugs: Crime

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of drug offences in each of the last three years in England.

Simon Baynes: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of offenders convicted, for the years 2017 to 2021, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool 2021 (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 21 MB). In the Outcomes by Offence data tool:Select the ‘Prosecutions and Convictions’ worksheet.Filter by Offence group and select ‘06: Drug offences’.For figures in England, filter by Police Force Area excluding the following areas:o North Waleso Gwento South Waleso Dyfed-PowysThe number of offenders convicted for drug offences will populate row 25.

Knives: Crime

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time has been between arrest and appearing in front of magistrates for people charged with knife possession in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands in each of the last 12 years.

Simon Baynes: The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes timeliness estimates of the key stages of the criminal justice system as part of the Criminal Court Statistics quarterly National Statistics release.The published estimates cover the periods from offence to charge, charge to first listing and through from first listing to completion (at either magistrates’ and Crown Court).The latest published information is available to March 2022 and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics.

Prisons: Location

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2022 to Question 31829 on Prisoners: Location and the Answer of 24 March 2022 to Question HL6866 on Prisoners: Females, what the average travelling distance between (a) female and (b) male prisons and the prisoner's home address was in each year since 2010.

Simon Baynes: Although travelling distance from home was historically provided on an ad hoc basis for specific time frames, this calculation method was discontinued in 2019 and replaced with straight-line modelling.Straight-line modelling is the most consistent calculation method. Attempts to model based on travelling distance are subject to high levels of temporal and geographical variation (e.g. inner city travel time).As such, the information requested is deemed less useful than straight-line modelling data. It is therefore not routinely calculated and is not currently held.

Prisons: Weather

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) safety measures and (b) additional support his Department has put in place to ensure the wellbeing of people in prisons during current extreme temperatures; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Baynes: Prisons are appropriately prepared and are well-versed at managing situations such as heatwaves. Heatwave guidance aligned to the Heatwave Plan for England was issued to the whole prison estate on 15th June and further advice issued on 15th July to all prison governors to support them with managing the situation at the local level.As well as providing information on safety for the general prison population and for staff, the guidance covers support for vulnerable groups identified by the UK Health Security Agency as at greater risk in heatwaves. The guidance encourages joint working with NHS prison health services to identify and support people with vulnerabilities.

Treasury

Armed Forces: Carers

Luke Pollard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the cost of living support offered to carers within the armed forces community.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that carers within the armed forces community are supported when faced with an increased cost of living.

Mr Simon Clarke: The government values the vital contribution made by carers to society and continues to provide financial support to unpaid carers – including members of the Armed Forces community – through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Universal Credit and through other benefits. Carers within the Armed Forces community have access to various channels of government support. Carers may be eligible for Carer’s Allowance if the person for whom they care receives disability benefits or related qualifying payments such as Armed Forces Independence Payment and the War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance.The government understands that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and particularly to the most vulnerable members of society such as disabled people and their carers. That is why the Cost of Living package announced on 26 May includes UK-wide support to help disabled people with the particular extra costs they are facing, with 6 million people who receive non-means-tested disability benefits due to receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. Veterans in receipt of a disability benefit through the Department for Work and Pensions, such as Personal Independence Payment, or in receipt of similar support specifically for veterans – such as Armed Forces Independence Payment, the War Pension Mobility Supplement or War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance – are eligible for the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. Carers of these veterans will also benefit from this payment if they live in the same household.Carers may also be able to benefit from other elements of the £37 billion of support for the cost of living the government has announced this year, which include: a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, paid in two instalments, for over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of means-tested benefits; an extra one-off £300 this year for over 8 million pensioner households, to cover the rising cost of energy this winter; and £400 off the bills of all domestic electricity customers in Great Britain from October, through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS).Previously announced measures to help people tackle the cost of living will also benefit carers, including frozen alcohol duty and fuel duty, raising the NICs threshold, council tax rebates and the rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour. For people that are not eligible for Cost of Living Payments or for those that still need additional support, the government is providing an extra £500 million of local support, via the Household Support Fund. The Fund will be extended from this October to March 2023, bringing total funding for the scheme to £1.5 billion.

Poverty: Portsmouth South

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to research by the End Child Poverty Coalition and the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, published July 2022, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of children in poverty in Portsmouth South constituency.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government is committed to tackling poverty through a long term, sustainable approach and believes that the best way to support people out of poverty is to help them get into work. A child growing up in a home where all the adults work is four times less likely to be in absolute poverty (after housing costs) than a child growing up in a home where nobody works. That is why the Government is focused on supporting people by helping them get into work through the multi-billion-pounds Plan for Jobs. To continue to boost employment, wages and living standards, the Government is continuing or enhancing the most successful Plan for Jobs schemes and introducing a new package of measures, taking the total DWP spend on labour market support to over £6 billion over the next three years. The Government has also taken decisive action to make work pay by cutting the Universal Credit taper rate from 63p to 55p, and increasing Universal Credit work allowances by £500 a year. This is effectively a tax cut for the lowest paid households worth around £1.9 billion in 2022-23. 1.7 million households will keep, on average, around an extra £1000 a year. Furthermore, the government is supporting over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of means tested benefits with a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, paid in two instalments. This package builds on the over £22 billion announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37 billion this year.

Small Modular Reactors

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to approve plans for small modular reactor production in the UK.

Mr Simon Clarke: Nuclear has an important role to play in the UK energy system as we strive toa chieve net zero emissions by 2050. The Government has awarded up to £210m to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design. The Rolls-Royce SMR entered the Generic Design Assessment process in April becoming the first SMR to begin UK nuclear regulation. The Government has also announced the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund (FNEF) of up to £120m to support future nuclear projects, including SMRs, address barriers to entry. The British Energy Security Strategy sets out the Government’s intention to take two Final Investment Decisions on new nuclear projects in the next parliament and to initiate a selection process for projects in 2023, including SMRs.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Alaa Abdel Fattah

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with her Egyptian counterpart to secure (a) consular access to and (b) the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah.

Graham Stuart: Since his sentencing in December 2021, FCDO officials have consistently called on the Egyptian Government urgently to grant consular access to Alaa Abdel-Fattah. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, the Minister of State for North Africa, raised the case with Foreign Minister Shoukry during a call on 21 May; Lord (Tariq) Ahmad and the Foreign Secretary also raised the case with Minister Shoukry during the Foreign Minister's recent visit to London. As the Foreign Secretary said in the House on 21 June, we are working to secure his release.

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on allegations of crimes committed by SAS troops in Afghanistan.

Graham Stuart: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Ministry of Defence on a range of foreign policy issues, including Afghanistan.

Sustainable Development

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of conducting a second voluntary national review of the UK's progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Graham Stuart: The International Development Strategy and Integrated Review reaffirm the UK's commitment to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.The UK brings powerful economic and political tools to its development partnerships: aid, diplomacy, trade, investment, expertise and influence. Our programme of activity at this year's High Level Political Forum demonstrated how we will use these to meet the evolving needs of our partners and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.The UK's first Voluntary National Review (VNR) provided a comprehensive account of actions being taken across the UK by government and other actors. No decision has been made about a follow-up to the 2019 VNR.

Development Aid: Fossil Fuels

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the compatibility of British International Investment’s (BII) £123 million commitment to ABSA Bank with Government policies on financing fossil fuels; and what progress has been made towards excluding fossil fuel related activities from trade finance commitments by BII.

Amanda Milling: British International Investment (BII)'s support of trade finance facilities - such as Absa Bank's Trade Loan Facility committed to in 2019 - help businesses in developing countries to get access to essential goods including food commodities, inputs for agriculture and raw materials for manufacturing.All of BII's new investments are aligned with HMG's Fossil Fuel Policy and since 2021 BII has acted to exclude its trade finance capital being used for coal and crude oil trades.

Development Aid: Fossil Fuels

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the energy generated by British International Investment’s portfolio was generated by fossil fuels in 2021.

Amanda Milling: British International Investment (BII) publishes information on total power generated by portfolio companies in its Annual Review. The information request was published on 5 July 2022 on page 37 of 2021 BII's Annual Review.The amount of power generated and distributed from renewable sources by BII's investments has more than doubled in two years and as of end of 2021 stands at 37 per cent. It will increase further as other renewables projects that BII has committed to become operational.

Lebanon: Humanitarian Aid

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the (a) short- and (b) medium-term humanitarian needs of the people of Lebanon.

Amanda Milling: The UK has allocated over £799 million in humanitarian, development and security funding to Lebanon since 2011, providing humanitarian assistance since 2016. This funding benefits both Syrian refugees in Lebanon and vulnerable Lebanese. We make funding decisions based on regular assessment data collected by the humanitarian community. Since the economic decline over the last two years, additional assessment data has been collected on the humanitarian needs of the Lebanese, Palestinian refugees, and migrant communities, to complement the data on Syrian refugees. Short and medium-term needs across all population groups are myriad, covering basic needs including food, healthcare, and protection. Long-term needs can only be met through long-term solutions.The UK is at the forefront of the international community in ensuring humanitarian support to Lebanon is principally based on humanitarian need, rather than refugee status, under a 'whole of Lebanon' response. We also continue to make clear that Lebanon's leaders must implement a credible reform process as the only sustainable way to address the ongoing crisis in Lebanon.

China: Carbon Emissions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the Chinese Government on cutting carbon emissions.

Amanda Milling: The Foreign Secretary spoke to her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi shortly before COP26 in Glasgow and pressed for China to submit an ambitious Chinese nationally determined contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ahead of the Summit. In March this year, the Prime Minister reiterated the importance of action and cooperation on climate change in his call with President Xi Jinping. COP President Alok Sharma has engaged regularly with China's Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, Xie Zhenhua, most recently in a bilateral meeting in June, where they discussed progress in implementing our respective climate commitments. This included the Glasgow Climate Pact, and how to deliver further climate action and ambition ahead of COP27. The Minister for Pacific and the Environment, Lord Goldsmith, has also discussed climate and biodiversity issues with the Chinese Ambassador to the UK.

Lebanon: Economic Situation

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she last met her Lebanese counterpart to discuss the economic situation in that country.

Amanda Milling: Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South and Central Asia, North Africa, UN & the Commonwealth, met Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on 6 July. Lord Ahmad underlined the need for swift government formation and economic reforms. The UK Government is clear that the Lebanese Government must deliver economic reforms, which are the only way to rebuild the confidence of the international community and secure a critical International Monetary Fund rescue package.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Operating Costs

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the fall in the value of Sterling on her Department’s total operating budget.

Amanda Milling: Where possible we seek to make our commitments in British Pound Sterling (GBP) to de-risk the impact of foreign currency fluctuation exposure for example the majority of our ODA programme budget is committed in GBP. Where we cannot commit in GBP, in particular across our operating budget, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has a Foreign Currency mechanism agreed with HM Treasury to maintain the department's spending power despite changes in the value of Sterling.

Uzbekistan: Politics and Government

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent events in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan.

Amanda Milling: The UK is saddened by the loss of life that occurred during recent events in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. We understand that initially peaceful protests against plans to change Karakalpakstan's autonomous status within Uzbekistan developed into violent unrest with casualties among civilians and law enforcement personnel. The situation now seems calm. The Uzbek authorities have announced an official investigation, involving Parliament and civil society.On 7 July, Lord Ahmad raised the unrest in Karakalpakstan with the Uzbek Deputy Foreign Minister and the British Ambassador and his team in Tashkent are also in contact with the Uzbek authorities. We have been clear in our communications that the right to peaceful protest and respect for media freedom should be protected. In discussion of these events in multilateral fora, we urged the Uzbek authorities to adhere to their international commitments and due process, as they seek to understand what happened. We will continue to monitor developments closely.

Uzbekistan: Politics and Government

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of (a) recent events in and (b) access to (i) international journalists, (ii) human rights organisations and (iii) telephone and internet connections in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

Amanda Milling: The UK is saddened by the loss of life that occurred during recent events in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. We understand that initially peaceful protests against plans to change Karakalpakstan's autonomous status within Uzbekistan developed into violent unrest with casualties among civilians and law enforcement personnel. The situation now seems calm. Although there are reports of internet and telephone communications being blocked, we understand that communications in Karakalpakstan have mostly been reinstated, and international and local journalists have been given limited access to the region. The Uzbek authorities have announced an official investigation involving Parliament and civil society.On 7 July, Lord Ahmad raised the unrest in Karakalpakstan with the Uzbek Deputy Foreign Minister and the British Ambassador and his team in Tashkent are also in contact with the Uzbek authorities. We have been clear in our communications that the right to peaceful protest and respect for media freedom should be protected. In discussion of these events in multilateral fora, we urged the Uzbek authorities to adhere to their international commitments and due process, as they seek to understand what happened. We will continue to monitor developments closely.

Nigeria: Health

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she is taking steps to address the impact of rising temperatures and air pollution on maternal health in Nigeria.

Vicky Ford: Climate change and exposure to air pollution, caused through the effects of desertification, excessive deforestation, poor public waste management and bush burning, are major health risks for the population of Nigeria. Within this context, a robust and sustainable health system is crucial to provide access to essential healthcare, including lifesaving maternal and child health services.As part of our Presidency of COP26, the UK developed and is delivering the COP26 Health Programme, which aims to enable transformational change in health systems globally that protects both people and the planet. Under this programme, Nigeria made an ambitious commitment to build a climate-resilient and low-carbon sustainable health system. This includes a plan to achieve net carbon zero and to minimise human exposure to air pollution by 2035. Through our core voluntary contribution to the World Health Organization and The Global Fund, the UK is now supporting Nigeria's Ministry of Health to design and develop a climate resilient health strategy that includes management of medical waste and use of renewable energy at primary health care facilities for maternal and newborn services.

São Tomé and Príncipe: Elections

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Sao Tome and Principe Government on planned legislative elections in that country; and whether she has received any requests for technical support.

Vicky Ford: The UK has a close, constructive relationship with President Vila Nova and his Government in São Tomé and Príncipe. The country is the highest-scoring in Central Africa on governance according to the Ibrahim Index. No request for technical assistance for the legislative elections has been received, but the UK Government would be open to considering possible support should it be requested.

Sudan: Conflict Resolution

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support de-escalation of recent violence in Blue Nile State of Sudan.

Vicky Ford: The recent violence in the Blue Nile State is troubling and my thoughts are with those affected. We urge all parties to avoid escalation and engage in dialogue to prevent further conflict; a message our Ambassador to Sudan delivered publicly on 18 July. The UK is providing humanitarian support to those affected through our partners, including the multi-donor Sudan Humanitarian Fund. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and press Sudanese authorities to deliver their obligation to protect civilians.

Somaliland: Media

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has held recent discussions with her counterparts in Somaliland on restrictions on international media in that country, including the BBC.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government is committed to media freedom and freedom of expression; they are essential components of a democratic society.Diminishing media freedom in Somaliland is evidenced by the growing number of arrests of journalists and the recent ban on the BBC. We regularly raise these issues at all levels with the Somaliland Government, including with the Somaliland Foreign Minister. We also continue to defend media freedom by encouraging the Somaliland Government to pass a stalled media law that would help secure greater protections for journalists and improve standards for journalism.

Horn of Africa: Famine

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has to allocate additional emergency funding to mitigate the risk of famine in the Horn of Africa before the end of 2022.

Vicky Ford: The UK is a major humanitarian donor to the East Africa region. In financial year 2022/2023 (ending 31 March 2023) we will provide at least £156 million to address humanitarian requirements across East Africa.

Development Aid: Females

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how her Department calculated that £745 million was needed to restore ODA spending on bilateral women and girls programmes this financial year.

Vicky Ford: As set out in the International Development Strategy, we intend to restore our level of dedicated bilateral FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) to women and girls programming. This restoration is based on FY20/21 spend against a set of input sector codes aligned with the '3 Es' - Educating girls, Empowering women and girls, and Ending violence against women and girls.

Ministry of Defence

RAF Coningsby: Typhoon Aircraft

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether approval by military staff was sought prior to the Prime Minister taking control of a Tycoon fighter jet.

Jeremy Quin: Yes. Prior approval for the Prime Minister to take limited and temporary control of the aircraft was received. Once airborne this is dependent upon the pilot's assessment of circumstances and conditions, for safety reasons.

Typhoon Aircraft: Environment Protection

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the environmental impact of a Typhoon fighter jet taking flight.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the average amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted during a 30-minute flight of a Tycoon fighter jet.

Jeremy Quin: There is no viable carbon-free fuel currently available to complete Typhoon's operational mission which is critical to the defence of the nation. However, the RAF has introduced measures to ensure that greater proportions of routine training can be achieved using flight simulators. This will be further enhanced through incremental acquisition of Project Gladiator, which will allow the UK to undertake additional synthetic training for air, land and maritime forces, all on a secure network. This therefore enhances sustainability, as aircrew will require fewer live flying sorties to maintain combat effectiveness. More broadly, the RAF is committed to achieving NetZero by 2040 and is leading efforts international efforts to harness collaboration between global air and space forces on the common challenges faced, working together to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and existing supply chains, using new technologies including sustainable and synthetic aviation fuels and alternative sources of energy.

F-35 Aircraft: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to update the RAF website in respect of the planned unit purchases of F-35b jets.

Jeremy Quin: The RAF Website is continuously updated to reflect programme changes as they occur.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much (a) his Department and (b) the Navy has spent in total on planning and taking primacy for channel crossings in 2022.

James Heappey: The cost of Defence activity relating to Channel crossings in financial Year 2022-23 will not be known until the accounts have closed in the summer of 2023. Operation ISOTROPE is being fulfilled from naval assets currently assigned to tasks in UK waters and, as such, the additional costs to the Department for their tasking on ISOTROPE as opposed to other taskings in Home Waters is estimated to be relatively modest.

Artillery

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing longer range field artillery pieces into the British Army.

Jeremy Quin: The British Army is planning to introduce a longer-range artillery system. The Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) will deliver a 155mm 52 calibre self-propelled artillery system.

Satellites

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 21 of the Integrated Review 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the possibility of being able to launch British satellites from the UK by 2022.

Jeremy Quin: The UK Spaceflight Programme is led by the UK Space Agency. It aims to establish commercial vertical and horizontal small satellite launch from UK spaceports from 2022. The Ministry of Defence is supporting this ambition. It has provided security and defence advice to the UK Space Agency-led launch programme and there will be Defence research and development payloads on the inaugural Virgin Orbit launch from UK soil later this year.

Artillery

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of expanding the number of L118 LIGHT GUN's in service with the British Army.

Jeremy Quin: There is no current plan or requirement to increase the number of L118 Light Guns within the British Army.

NATO Countries: Radar

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many NATO allies use the European Common Radar System Mk 2 radar.

Jeremy Quin: The UK is currently the only NATO nation investing in the European Common Radar System Mk 2 radar.

Military Aid: Weather

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many MACA requests his Department has received in response to extreme heat in each of the last three years; and of those how many his Department has accepted.

James Heappey: In the last three years, the Ministry of Defence has received two Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) requests relating to extreme heat. In May and June 2020, Defence was requested to support fighting wildfires in Wareham Forest and Hatfield Moor respectively. Both MACA requests were accepted but were subsequently cancelled by the requesting Department before they were activated.

UK Space Command: Employment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of UK personnel that will be based at UK Space Command in each year until 2030.

James Heappey: The current projected forecast for the number of UK Whole Force personnel at UK Space Command up to 2025, is as follows: Financial Year (FY)2022-23 = 589 FY2023-24 = 602 FY2024-25 = 614 As the Command is still developing future workforce forecasts through to 2030 are still being established and will be dependent on the evolution of the Command.

AWE: Staff

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the management arrangements in place for staff in the Atomic Weapons Establishment in ensuring (a) an inclusive and diverse working environment culture, (b) that staff are not subject to any unfair discrimination and (c) that disciplinary procedures are fairly and consistently applied.

Jeremy Quin: The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) has an established non-discrimination policy, underpinned by a diversity, equality and inclusion strategy, including a behavioural framework for all company employees. The AWE Board, including a Shareholder Non-Executive Director as MOD's representative, holds the AWE Executive team to account on effective and fair staff management, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence.

Department for Work and Pensions

Unemployment Benefits

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) total number of claimants of out-of-work benefits and (b) gross off-flow of claimants from out-of-work benefits into employment was for each month from January 2013 for data is available.

Julie Marson: The total out-of-work benefit caseload is published on a quarterly basis from February 2013 to November 2021 in the Benefit Combinations statistics on the Stat-Xplore website:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk Guidance for users of Stat-Xplore is available at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html Monthly out-of-work benefit destinations are only available for Jobseeker's Allowance claimants and are published by Office for National Statistics. The statistics for January 2013 to June 2022 can be found on the NOMIS website:https://www.nomisweb.co.ukGuidance for users can be found at:https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

Employment: Ethnic Groups

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps she has taken to encourage black and minority ethnic women into work in (a) Newport West constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the United Kingdom.

Julie Marson: We want everyone to be able to find a job, progress in work and thrive in the labour market, whoever they are and wherever they live. The latest Office for National Statistics update for the first quarter of 2022 shows that there are 2 million more women in work compared to in 2010 and a record high 2.0 million ethnic minority women in work, a significant increase of 180,000 since the same quarter in 2021. The ethnic minority employment rate for women was 61.7%, a 1.1% increase since the same quarter in 2021.Our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all Jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) and Restart scheme. In Southeast Wales, our Jobcentres are working with Adult Learning Wales to deliver ‘Prepare for the Civil Service’ recruitment support sessions, supporting customers from groups with lower social mobility, including ethnic minority jobseekers, to apply for positions with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. We are extending this initiative to support more diverse recruitment in all other government departments in Wales.

Food Banks: Mental Illness

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the number and proportion of foodbank users who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Rutley: The data is unavailable to make that assessment. Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation.

Debts: Disclosure of Information

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is her Department's Debt Management's policy to include full details of relevant debt in (a) email and (b) other written correspondence advising individuals of the debt.

David Rutley: All benefit overpayments are notified to claimants. The notification sets out why the overpayment occurred, the amount overpaid and the period of overpayment, along with the debtor’s appeal rights. For other claimant liabilities, such as advances and loans, the amount to be paid and repayment terms are agreed in advance. Once any debts or other liabilities are transferred to Debt Management for recovery, any notifications will typically show the current overall balance outstanding for all debts and liabilities, rather than listing individual debts. We are currently developing an on-line service whereby individuals are able to go and view their outstanding balances. A number of claimants are already accessing this service.

Children: Maintenance

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of increases in the cost of living on payments made by non-resident parents.

Guy Opperman: Child maintenance payments made by the non-resident parent are designed to be fair and affordable whilst ensuring they contribute a significant amount of their income to support any children they no longer live with. A banding system ensures that the very lowest earners pay a flat rate of £7 per week, and those with no income pay nothing. Those that can afford to make a bigger contribution do so at a rate that reflects what they earn.

Children: Maintenance

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the current amount of unpaid payments by non-resident parents is; and what steps the Child Maintenance Service is taking to recoup outstanding monies.

Guy Opperman: The Child Maintenance Service actively pursues all outstanding child maintenance using a variety of enforcement options including deductions from earnings, deductions from benefits and identifying and securing cash balances and assets through its enforcement actions. If non compliance persists then sanctions including commitment to prison or the disqualification of a driving licence and removal of passport is considered. The Child Maintenance Service has focussed efforts to influence and enforce payment where a paying parent refuses to pay but has an ability to pay. The department has reduced its unpaid debt through the collect and pay service to an all time low of 8.3% of the total liabilities raised as at March 2022 compared to 9.9% in March 2020. (Child Maintenance Service statistics: data to March 2022, National tables: Child Maintenance Service statistics, date to March 2022 table six). Link attached showing the unpaid child maintenance through Collect and Pay from March 2015 to March 22 for your convenience. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-march-2022-experimental

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Pets: Weather

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that domestic pets are not put at risk during a period of extreme heat.

Steve Double: We are acutely aware of the potential risks that hot weather creates for pets. Defra has issued communications over the last week to give tips to pet owners on steps to take in hot weather to keep their pets safe. This includes social media posts on how to keep your dog or cat cool, encouraging pet owners to know the signs of heatstroke:https://twitter.com/DefraGovUK/status/1548215892692963329?s=20&t=eQ0yptnzMwlN0QlkDXa8sA and guidance on caring for horses in extreme weather: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/keeping-farm-animals-and-horses-in-extreme-weather. A number of veterinary and animal welfare organisations have also published advice and guidance for pet owners on caring for their pets during periods of extreme heat. For example, The British Veterinary Association issued advice to pet owners on keeping pets safe during hot weather which you can find here: https://www.bva.co.uk/news-and-blog/news-article/sunscreen-shade-and-sunset-walkies-vets-issue-urgent-heatwave-advice-as-temperatures-set-to-rival-2018-record/. World Horse Welfare also provided advice on caring for horses: https://int.worldhorsewelfare.org/news/hot-weather-and-horses.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the bureaucracy and restrictions imposed on farms that are subject to avian flu controls.

Steve Double: Defra’s objective in tackling any outbreak of avian influenza is to eradicate the disease as quickly as possible from the UK poultry and captive-bird population and regain UK World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) disease-free status. Defra’s approach is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain (www.gov.uk/government/publications/notifiable-avian-disease-control-strategy). Current policy is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control. It reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease. Our approach aims to reduce adverse impacts on the rural and wider economy, the public, rural communities and the environment, whilst protecting public health and minimising the overall cost of any outbreak. We recognise the significant impact the current avian influenza is having on bird keepers. In particular, the scale of the current avian influenza outbreak has led to large numbers of poultry and other captive birds being subject to movement restrictions as a result of being located within disease control zones surrounding infected premises. During the current outbreak, Government has been able to reduce the administrative burden on keepers associated with applying for movement licenses from disease control zones through the launch of an online Avian Influenza Licensing Service. (https://apply-for-an-outbreak-licence.defra.gov.uk/) The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are leading on a cross-government, cross-agency review of lessons from the recent outbreak with the aim of identifying what went well and areas where further improvements can be made. This will include identifying areas where administrative burdens on keepers could potentially be eased if they do not impact the effectiveness of disease control measures.

Water Companies: Environment Protection

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Environment Agency’s environmental performance report 2021 in respect of water and sewerage companies in England, published on 14 July 2021; and what steps he plans to take in response to the findings of that report.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency’s environmental performance report 2021 in respect of water and sewerage companies in England, published on 14 July 2021, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) statutory powers and (b) resources it has to ensure water and sewerage companies meet their environmental performance targets and obligations.

Steve Double: The Environment Agency (EA) published the latest Environmental Performance Assessment of water companies on 14 July (www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-and-sewerage-companies-in-england-environmental-performance-report-2021/water-and-sewerage-companies-in-england-environmental-performance-report-2021). This report showed that most water companies' performance had declined. This is simply unacceptable and the Government, Ofwat, and the EA share a joint commitment to tackling this issue.We have been clear about our expectations that the sector cleans up their act. Where they are found to not be complying with legal obligations as a minimum, government will work with regulators to ensure they take robust action. The EA and Ofwat have powers under the Water Industry Act 1991, Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016, and the Environmental Protection Act 1990 that allow Ofwat to issue fines of up 10% of annual turnover, and the EA to prosecute water companies and their directors, leading to Court imposed fines.Since 2015, the Environment Agency has brought 54 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies securing fines of over £139 million. Following an EA investigation, in July 2021 Southern Water were fined a record £90 million after pleading guilty to the thousands of illegal discharges of sewage. Upon our request, the independent sentencing council have also agreed to review guidelines to ensure fines applied by the Courts remain an effective deterrent.The Environment Act 2021 set new duties and transparency mechanisms into place to further drive up the environmental performance of water companies. If we do not start to see the changes we expect rapidly, we will not hesitate to take further action.

Soil: Droughts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to protect soil health from the impact of drought.

Steve Double: Several soil health measures are currently being developed to improve and protect the resilience of our soil, so that it functions effectively to enable water to be retained through increased organic matter content and allowing aquifers to remain fuller for longer during prolonged dry seasons. Measures include the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Local Nature Recovery which support sustainable approaches to farm husbandry that will improve and protect soil health. For example, SFI will incentivise management practices such the use of herbal leys, and grass-legume mixtures or cover crops. These actions help to build levels of organic matter and avoid compaction to allow soil to function effectively.

Home Office

Members: Correspondence

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for Christchurch in response to his email to the Immigration Minister of 5 January 2022; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office responded to the correspondence on 20 July 2022

Asylum: Rwanda

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential risks for individuals applying for UK refugee status who are transferred to Rwanda under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership of (a) arbitrary detention by Rwandan security services and (b) forced recruitment into either non-state actor or state actor armed organisations; and if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of that matter.

Simon Baynes: People who are relocated to Rwanda under the Migration and Economic Development will not be detained. Rwanda will process their asylum claims in accordance with national and international human rights laws, and will ensure their protection from inhuman and degrading treatment or being returned to the place they originally fled.Rwanda is a safe country with a track record of providing opportunities for refugees. Those relocated will be given all the support they need, with accommodation, food, healthcare, and help to integrate into the local community. They will be free to come and go.This Partnership will be underpinned by a monitoring system put in place to ensure that the scheme is successfully relocating people to Rwanda to rebuild their lives and their welfare needs are being adequately addressed.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on the number of (a) attempted and (b) successful cross-channel journeys by migrants in small boats in each of the last five years.

Simon Baynes: The Home Office publishes data on small boat arrivals in the quarterly migration statistics release on https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/irregular-migration-to-the-uk-year-ending-march-2022

Asylum: Rwanda

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether reports made by the Monitoring Committee set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Rwanda for the provision of an asylum partnership will be laid before the House of Commons; and what the (a) frequency and (b) purpose of those reports will be.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Monitoring Committee set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Rwanda for the provision of an asylum partnership will have representatives with experience of applying for asylum in (a) the UK and (b) Rwanda as part of its membership.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which (a) individuals and (b) organisations her Department has contacted to form the Monitoring Committee set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Rwanda for the provision of an asylum partnership.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Monitoring Committee set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Rwanda for the provision of an asylum partnership will be able to intervene in individual cases.

Simon Baynes: An independent Monitoring Committee for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership will monitor the entire relocation process and compliance with assurances in the Memorandum of Understanding, including the processing of asylum claims and provision of support in Rwanda.The terms of reference of the Monitoring Committee for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership have been agreed and will set out how the Monitoring Committee will report its findings. The Monitoring Committee is due to become established over the next few weeks and the membership is in the process of being agreed. More details on this will be set out in due course.As set out in paragraph 15 of the Memorandum of Understanding, the Monitoring Committee will monitor the entire relocation process, and the conditions it will report on will include pre-screening process, reception conditions, accommodation, processing of asylum claims and treatment and support of individuals at all times. The Monitoring Committee will have unfettered access for the purposes of completing assessments and reports.

Police: Finance

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last (a) conducted a review of the Police Allocation Formula (PAF) and (b) made an assessment of the impact of the PAF on the West Midlands; and if she will publish a breakdown of the effect of damping on police funding allocations to West Midlands Police in each of the last 10 years.

Tom Pursglove: The government is currently conducting a review of the Police Funding Formula. We recognise that the current police funding formula is out of date and no longer accurately reflects demand on policing. We intend to introduce a new funding formula before the next General Election.Floor damping was applied by the then Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG - now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) before DCLG funding for local policing bodies was transferred to the Home Office in 2013/14. Funding allocations were confirmed through the 2013/14 Police Grant Report, and the floor damping calculation for policing bodies was set out in “Calculating the 2013/14 Formula Funding‟ which accompanied the Provisional Local Government Finance Report (England) 2013/14.The annual Police Grant Report published by the Home Office provides information on how allocations have been made from 2013/14 to 2022/23. Damping applied to funding for local policing bodies before 2013/14 by the then-DCLG is set out in the annual Local Government Finance settlements.

Knives: West Midlands

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands on tackling knife crime.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding has been made available for early intervention and prevention programmes to support young people at high risk of involvement in serious violence in the West Midlands in each of the last 12 years.

Tom Pursglove: Tackling knife crime is a priority and the Government is determined to crack down on the scourge of violence devastating our communities.The Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands attended a recent Home Secretary visit to Birmingham on 29 June in preparation for the Commonwealth Games.Home Office officials are in regular contact with police forces and PCCs, including the West Midlands, about their local response to knife crime. For West Midlands, this has included recent detailed examination of local data on violent crime, and police plans to tackle it.On 2 February 2022, the Government published a total police funding settlement of up to £16.9 billion in 2022/23, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to 2021/22.It is for Chief Constables, directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions including how to allocate resources based on their local knowledge and experience.West Midlands' funding will be up to £695.6m in 2022/23, an increase of up to £40.1m when compared to 2021/22.In addition, the West Midlands has benefited from a wide range of funding intended to intervene early and divert young people from involvement in violence. Current intervention and prevention programmes were largely initiated from 2018 / 2019 and 12 years of figures are unavailable for these programmes. The funding includes:£1.831m between 2018/19 and 2019/20 from the Early Intervention Youth Fund (EIYF). The EIYF was designed to support and prevent young people from becoming involved in violence through positive activities.£10.11m between 2019 and 2022 to develop the West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). VRUs bring together key local partners to identify the drivers of serious violence and deliver a coordinated and cohesive response. This includes a range of interventions to support young people at high risk of involvement in serious violence.£7m through the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) for a range of projects to reduce serious violence. The YEF is supporting our response to serious violence by identifying what works in diverting children and young people away from involvement in serious violent crime.

Drugs: Misuse

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offences were recorded for drug possession in each of the last three years in England.

Tom Pursglove: The number of possession of drugs offences recorded by the police forces in England (including those recorded by the British Transport Police) in each of the last three years is presented in the table below.Year ending December:Possession of drugs offences, England2019137,4232020156,5562021136,019

Police: Misconduct

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were at some point on suspended duty pending a misconduct hearing in each of the years since 2016.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office does not hold data centrally on how many police officers were suspended pending a misconduct hearing.The Home Office collects and publishes data on misconduct proceedings, including hearings (and accelerated hearings) in the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales year ending 31 March 2021’, available here: Police misconduct, England and Wales year ending 31 March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) However, information on whether the officer was suspended pending a misconduct hearing is not collected.Separately, the Home Office also publishes information on the number of officers who are absent due to being suspended in the annual ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The information in this release is a snapshot of those absent on 31st March 2021 only, and does not cover all absences within the year. Information on the number of absences on both a full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount basis, as at 31 March each year, since 2007 can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ available here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1005764/open-data-table-police-workforce-absence-280721.odsThese open data tables will be updated at 9.30am on Wednesday 27th July 2022.

Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Istanbul Convention will be ratified by 31 July 2022.

Amanda Solloway: On 21st July the UK ratified the Istanbul Convention, sending a strong message to women and girls across the UK, and around the world, that the Government is committed to tackling VAWG.The Istanbul Convention is the gold standard for combating violence against women and girls (VAWG). The UK signed the Convention in 2012 and the Government has always remained committed to ratifying it as soon as possible. This commitment was reiterated in our Tackling VAWG Strategy, published last July.Since signing the Convention in 2012, we have significantly strengthened the legislative framework and introduced a range of new measures, including new offences on domestic abuse, forced marriage and stalking; tools such as Domestic Violence, Stalking and FGM Protection Orders; and a range of guidance and support for professionals.

High Rise Flats: Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish (a) all correspondence that she and her Department have had with (i) developers and (ii) housing associations on the Grenfell Inquiry's recommendation to make it mandatory for owners of high-rise flats to arrange personal emergency evacuation plans for disabled people and (b) the Government's position on that recommendation.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Department has engaged with many stakeholders in relation to recommendation 33.22e in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 1 report – that the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to prepare personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) for all residents whose ability to self-evacuate may be compromised (such as persons with reduced mobility or cognition).These stakeholders include Fire & Rescue Services, Local Government, fire safety experts, leaseholders, housing associations, disability groups, residents’ groups, individual residents and members of the public.Summaries of many these discussions are detailed in the Government’s response to the PEEPs consultation. That document and the ongoing live public consultation, sets out the Government’s position on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendation in question.

Fire and Rescue Services: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to incorporate the building safety grant agreed following phase one of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry into the base funding provided to fire and rescue services; and if she will make a statement.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Protection Uplift fund is not currently incorporated into Fire and Rescue Services’ core spending power as it is a ring-fenced grant provided to fund specific capabilities. The Home Office will continue to review how Fire and Rescue Services are best supported to increase fire protection capability and capacity.

Fire and Rescue Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the capacity of the Fire and Rescue Service to manage periods of extreme heat and related fires.

Miss Sarah Dines: Fire and rescue authorities in England are required to assess foreseeable fire and rescue related risks (including wildfires) that could affect their area, and how they will respond. In this period of extreme heat I am monitoring fire and rescue authorities, and their ability to continue to protect the public. I am confident that fire and rescue authorities are continuing to maintain essential services, and that specialist capabilities to fight wildfires, including equipment and expert advisers, are in place.

UK Visas and Immigration: Vacancies

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vacancies there are for roles within UK Visas and Immigration; and what proportion of those vacancies are being advertised for.

Kevin Foster: The information requested on the number of vacancies is not readily available in the format requested as a manual trawl would have to be conducted, which would infer disproportionate costs.

HM Passport Office: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) new staff have been hired by and (b) existing staff have left HM Passport Office since 1 May 2022.

Kevin Foster: The table below shows the number of staff who have been hired and left HM Passport Office since 1 May 2022. HMPOHeadcountJoiners294 HMPOHeadcountLeavers62

Asylum: Turkey

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Turkish Government on sending people seeking asylum in the UK from the UK to Turkey.

Kevin Foster: The UK is interested in working with multiple international partners to break the business model of people smuggling gangs and fix the broken asylum system.We continue to pursue multiple Third Country Asylum Partnerships with those countries who are interested but we will not be drawn into speculation on which nations this includes.

HM Passport Office: Vacancies

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vacancies there were within HM Passport Office; and how many of those vacancies were advertised as of 13 July 2022.

Kevin Foster: HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased over 1200 since April 2021. HM Passport Office will continue to recruit to cover attrition, ensuring it remains fully resourced.

Undocumented Migrants: Dover Port

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will list the (a) value and (b) length of the contracts Border Force holds with (i) MITIE, (ii) Interforce and (iii) Definitive PSA in connection with the processing of undocumented migrants arriving in the Port of Dover.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will list the private security companies (a) contracted or (b) sub-contracted to process undocumented migrants in (i) the Port of Dover and (ii) Manston Airport.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current minimum staffing levels are on contracts between the Border Force and private security contractors in (a) the Port of Dover and (b) Manston Airport.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office does not routinely publish information relating to the number of staff working in specific locations as this would publicise operational practises which, in the wrong hands, could be used to attempt to evade controls at the border and compromise border security.However, resource and staffing requirements at every port are continually reviewed by Border Force and we work closely with all port operators to try and anticipate demand. Resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing Associations: Service Charges

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the reasonableness and value for money of service charges levied by housing associations on their tenants.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government believes very strongly that service charges should be transparent and communicated effectively. The way a service charge is organised (for example, what it covers and how it is worked out) is set out in the lease or tenancy agreement. The law is clear that variable service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to work or services, the work or services must be of a reasonable standard. The Government believes that there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong.The Government’s policy statement on rents for social housing (published in February 2019) encourages registered providers of social housing to keep increases for services charges in line with inflation, within CPI+1% per annum, to help keep charges affordable. It also states that tenants should be supplied with clear information on how service charges are set, and in the case of social rent properties, providers are expected to identify service charges separately from the rent charge.The Regulator of Social Housing’s Rent Standard says that registered providers must comply with all the requirements and expectations of the Government’s Rent Policy Statement on the setting, increase and decrease of rents and service charges.

Building Safety Fund: West Midlands

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many buildings that have successfully applied to the Building Safety Fund have (a) received funding and (b) started cladding remediation work in (i) Birmingham Edgbaston constituency, (ii) Birmingham and (iii) the West Midlands.

Mr Marcus Jones: In Birmingham (using the boundary of Upper Tier Local Authority) 26 buildings have been assessed as eligible for the Building Safety Fund. Of these, 19 buildings have received funding and 6 have started cladding remediation work.In the West Midlands (using Local Fire Authority boundaries) 32 buildings have been assessed as eligible for the Building Safety Fund. Of these, 22 buildings have received funding and 6 have started cladding remediation work.In the constituency of Edgbaston, the number of eligible applications to the Building Safety Fund is below the threshold at which we can publish data without the risk of identifying individual buildings.

Housing: Construction

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to ensure that new housing in rural areas comes with necessary improvements to local infrastructure.

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to ensure that new housing in rural areas comes with necessary improvements to local infrastructure.

Mr Marcus Jones: The provision of the right infrastructure at the right time is very important to new and existing communities, including those in rural locations. Where infrastructure is required as a result of new development, local planning authorities can require contributions from developers towards that infrastructure. Contributions can be sought through Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy.To create a more efficient, effective and transparent system, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill proposes a new Infrastructure Levy. This will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally, to largely replace the complex and discretionary Section 106 regime and CIL charge.The Bill will require local authorities to prepare infrastructure delivery strategies. These will set out a strategy for delivering local infrastructure through spending Levy proceeds. They will create a more transparent process for local people on how funds will be spent and what infrastructure will be delivered to support development. It will be for local councils to decide which infrastructure projects they spend the proceeds on.The Levy will be brought forward through regulations that will set out the detail of how it will operate. We intend to consult on this detail, prior to any publication of regulations.

Supported Housing

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory definition of support for residents of exempt supported accommodation.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps he has taken to improve standards in the exempt supported accommodation sector.

Mr Marcus Jones: On 17 March we announced our intention to bring forward a package of measures to put an end to a minority of unscrupulous supported housing landlords exploiting some of the most vulnerable in our society.  This includes the intention to introduce standards for support.We are actively engaging with stakeholders to develop the detail of the measures and will introduce any measures requiring legislation when parliamentary time allows.We have also announced that we will provide £20 million for a Supported Housing Improvement Programme to drive up quality in the sector in some of the worst affected areas. The funding call for the programme opened on 2 July.

Housing: Construction

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has carried out an impact assessment on the impact of the Future Homes Standard on new house build completions from 2025.

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward the technical consultation on the Future Homes Standard from 2023 to provide greater certainty to housing developers and companies in their supply chains.

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the transitionary arrangements for implementing the Future Homes Standard, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a phased implementation of those arrangements to enable developments to proceed based on planning permission already granted and energy infrastructure already laid.

Mr Marcus Jones: We have listened to calls for a swifter and more certain pathway to 2025 and have already accelerated our work on a full technical specification for the Future Homes Standard, which is planned for Spring 2023. In the meantime, to provide greater certainty for all stakeholders, we have published a draft notional building specification for the Future Homes Standard. The specification is not final but provides a basis on which we are already beginning to engage with industry on the indicative technical detail of the Future Homes Standard.A full impact assessment on the Future Homes Standard will be carried out ahead of implementation and published online. Government's intention is to publish a draft impact assessment alongside the consultation in 2023.As part of the consultation, we will consider what transitional arrangements are appropriate. Transitional arrangements are important as they provide all developers with certainty about the standards they are building to, and assurance that they should not have to make material amendments to work which is already underway when new Regulations came into force.

Housing: Students

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to ensure that students in houses in multiple occupation will continue to have access to fixed-term, rather than periodic, tenancies in the provisions of the forthcoming Renters Reform Bill.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government’s commitment to abolish section 21 evictions and move to periodic tenancies will mean tenants enjoy greater security and feel empowered to challenge poor practice and unreasonable rent rises. We want as many tenants as possible to benefit from these reforms, including students living in the private rented sector.We expect most students will continue to move in-line with the academic year. However, the proposed reforms will support student households who have children or local roots to remain in their properties after studying if they wish to. It will also mean that students are not locked into contracts when their circumstances change or if property standards are poor.

Housing: Students

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what representations he has received from landlords of HMO student accommodation on the potential impact of the Renters Reform Bill on their properties.

Mr Marcus Jones: In July 2019, the Department published a consultation - ‘A New Deal for Renting’ , on the implications of removing assured shorthold tenancies, which included a question on student accommodation. 19,697 consultation responses in total were received from a range of individuals and organisations. Since then, the department has used consultation feedback and extensive stakeholder engagement to understand the impact of proposals in the forthcoming Renters Reform Bill, including on the availability and supply of student accommodation in the private rented sector. We will continue to consider the impact of our reforms as we move towards legislation and will publish a full impact assessment in due course.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the Government's plans are for supporting Ukrainians who have been rehoused through the Homes for Ukraine scheme after six months.

Mr Marcus Jones: I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 30150 on 11 July 2022.

Playgrounds: Disability

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to provide playgrounds that are accessible for children with disabilities.

Mr Marcus Jones: Through our national design guidance we encourage public spaces, including play areas, to be designed in an accessible and inclusive way.The Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities, such as local playgrounds.

Housing: Construction

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing housing density for the purposes of reducing the requirement to build new homes on greenfield sites.

Mr Marcus Jones: This Government strongly encourages the efficient and effective use of land. Our National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) already sets out that planning policies and decisions should promote an effective use of land and make as much use as possible of previously-developed land in meeting the need for homes and other uses, while safeguarding and improving the environment, and ensuring safe and healthy living conditions.The NPPF sets out that local plans should establish density standards for city and town centres which seek a significant uplift in density in those areas. Furthermore the NPPF is clear that where there is a shortage of land for meeting housing needs, it is especially important that planning policies and decisions avoid homes being built at low densities and that developments make optimal use of the potential of each site.We have introduced a number of measures to support increased density including new permitted development rights to allow more buildings to be extended upwards to create new homes, and to make it easier for existing buildings to be converted to residential use. This will further support residential densification while avoiding the need to build on other types of land.We are also bringing forward further reforms to support density through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, including a duty for local authorities to produce design codes to help shape the design of their area, giving greater certainty to communities and developers. In addition ‘Street Votes’ will incentivise communities to consider the potential for development and support a gentle increase in densities through well-designed and locally supported proposals.

Community Development: Infrastructure

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has plans to increase community benefits for people living near (a) large scale solar plants and (b) other nationally significant infrastructure projects.

Mr Marcus Jones: In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Secretary of State for Energy committed to consult on community benefit options for the network infrastructure we need to meet net zero targets. This will ensure that communities that host network infrastructure are recognised for their vital role in ensuring a cheaper, cleaner and self-sufficient energy supply in Britain. Any new community benefit options will not replace community engagement with developments through the existing planning and consultation processes.   Local communities will continue to be able to have their say on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and the benefits they can deliver for their local area, including: environmental enhancements; job schemes; energy discounts; and investment in local infrastructure, such as faster broadband, electric vehicle charging points or energy efficiency measures. Applicants are required to set out in their Statement of Community Consultation how they propose to consult those living in the vicinity of the land. When deciding whether to accept an application for a Development Consent Order, the Planning Inspectorate (on behalf of the relevant Sectary of State) must have regard to this consultation report. Where applications are accepted for examination, members of local communities can also make written representations on the proposed infrastructure, often also providing oral evidence at hearings.

Cabinet Office

Coronavirus: Death

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the increase in the number of deaths in people’s own homes since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic.

Johnny Mercer: A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 18 July is attached. UKSA letter response to PQ38578 (pdf, 114.6KB)Accompanying dataset for PQ38578 (xls, 55.5KB)

Drugs: Misuse

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many drug-related deaths were recorded in (a) England and (b) each police service area in each of the last three years.

Johnny Mercer: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 18 July is attached.UKSA Letter in response to PQ38626 (pdf, 117.2KB)Dataset accompanying response to PQ38626 (xls, 183.5KB)

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: India

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the UK’s free trade agreement with India on whisky exports from the UK to India.

Andrew Griffith: A free trade agreement (FTA) with India offers the opportunity to deepen our already strong trade relationship, which was worth £24.3 billion in 2021.The UK is a competitive supplier of whisky, having exported £146 million worth of whisky to India in 2021. However, Indian most favoured nation (MFN) tariffs on whisky are high at up to 150%. A comprehensive FTA would assist UK whisky exporters by addressing tariff barriers as well as non-tariff barriers such as customs provisions, helping to increase their competitiveness in the Indian market.